The Celestia vs The World - Hiatus
by Xen Kenshin
Summary: In a universe parallel to New Domino City, an unknown threat slowly begins to gather terrifying power. The inhabitants of Neo Copan City remain in the dark about this threat, caught up in their own daily lives and intercontinental warfare between three factions vying for total control. Will someone rise up to oppose and overthrow this threat, or is existence itself already doomed?
1. Chapter 1

**The Celestia vs. The World – Revised**!

Ambition That Attracts Darkness

Opening Arc

 _Here we go people, the re-start of the beginning. Yeah, I know this fic has been on hiatus for, well, ever, but that's because previously, I had been writing it as it came to me, throwing ideas in and out on a whim. I've already lost too many good story ideas because of my own devil-may-care attitude, and I won't allow all the hard work put in by myself, and all of my wonderful fans and supporters, to be wasted. So, I'm giving TCvTW:ATAD a mid-course reboot!_

 _Well, more like 'beginning-course' reboot, since the series was really JUST starting... But one thing hasn't changed: I do not have ownership of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's or any of its predecessors. If I did, you'd be watching this instead of reading it. And that would mean you'd be watching this instead of ZeXal/Arc-V. Visit my forum linked on my profile for story discussion and random chit-chat!_

* * *

 **Introduction – The Celestial Pentagon, The Crimson Dragon and The Green Drifter**

Shouting. Screaming. Musket fire. The dull thud of sharp metal objects hitting flesh and bone.

"How troublesome."

The battlefield was an old and dense wood. The trees, once brown and heavy with green foliage, were now stripped bare for last minute weapons and covered with the spilled blood of arrogant and careless men. Those who still lived, soldiers of either side, paid no mind to their fallen friends and foes. This was war, and regardless of how many perished, the war would not stop until only one side was left standing.

"To think that this is how humans treat life..."

As countless men locked in mortal combat and waging war between themselves hurried to and fro or fell immobile to the ground, a single man trotted across the moist, dark brown soil that stank of defeat and nevermore. As he trampled over the already thrashed hopes and dreams of men he once knew, men he once considered enemies, men he had once been, he kept a close eye on one particular section of the woods.

The man wore an all-white suit, complete with coat tails and a top hat. He wore speckled leather shoes that clacked with each step he took. In his hands was a cane topped with a jewel, possibly a diamond. His hair, at least what was visible beneath his hat, was tri-colored. The main color was white, nothing like that of an Albino, but as white as drawing paper. There were some black locks peeking from the back of his hat and from either side, two black and gold strands of hair caressed his face every time he took a step.

It was worth mentioning that his attire was not getting stained as he walked through the woods.

"This should be the spot..." The man looked around; a small stream flowed through the heart of the woods. The man in the white suit watched as a silverfish slipped between fallen branches, the moonlight reflecting brilliantly off of its scales. The fish continued to swim upstream, slowing down when it sensed something was amiss. Slowly, the clear stream gained a pink hue that darkened to a red tint. The fish then turned around and darted away as a large, metal boot stomped down in the stream.

"The giant went this way!"

An eager and tired man's voice yelled in the distance. The man in the white suit watched as the 'giant' struggled to free his foot from a sinkhole his weight undoubtedly caused. The giant gripped his calf, and the suited man could see several gashes going down the giant's back. While the front of the giant's armor was still intact, the back piece was completely missing.

"Ready the harpoon! We're going to finish this monster once and for all!"

"Yeah!" A second voice chimed in. "First we'll slay the giant, then we'll win the war!"

The giant, realizing he could not break free, went prone instead, pressing his stomach to the ground. He rushed and threw dirt over his frame, trying to camouflage with the ground.

"An unorthodox strategy," the man hoisted his lapels and crouched near the giant. "But I doubt that will work." He smiled as the giant continued covering himself in dirt as though he heard nothing. "It's amazing how much I can view, although I was not around to experience this." The well groomed man stood erect and retrieved a pocket watch from his pants pocket.

"Actually," a smile graced the lips of the man clad in white. "Enter stage right in three...two...one..."

"Are you here?" A higher pitched voice called out from the opposing side of the stream.

The giant stopped, recognizing his allies' voice.

"Speak to me!" Shrubbery shifted, and a lengthy teen darted out from within the woods. He continued to run until he was standing at the bank of the stream, right next to the man in white. The two were a spitting image of each other; the white clad male tipped his hat to his younger look alike. The teen did not see this, and proceeded to walk right through the man in white.

"Haste leads to waste, child..." The man in white clicked his tongue as he watched the teen run straight over to the giant, crossing to the opposite side of the stream.

"Brother!" The teen paused and looked back. He watched as the ground itself rose up and engulfed his scrawny frame in its shadow. "I am here."

The teen, gripping at his chest, let out a relieved sigh. "I thought you were a beast, brother." The sound of his relief quickly died down as the sound of sickening laughter picked up.

"So, not only do we discover a giant, but also its human aide?"

The man in white sighed and covered his ears. "I truly despise this part..."

Although he covered his ears, the man in white could still hear everything being said; every insult, every accusation, every bone chilling threat. He did not remove his hands form his ears until he saw the group of five men ready the harpoon.

"I will not let you harm him!" The teen declared bravely although his knees shook like a ship mast in a hurricane.

"Fire!" The harpoon rocketed forward, and the teen threw himself in front of it. His light frame was easily knocked back, but not before his chest piece made of leather, and a large portion of his right shoulder were displaced by the heavy metal projectile. The giant bellowed as the harpoon then struck his chest in the very center.

The two lay motionless as shouts and roars became louder, and the harpoon men gained worried looks on their faces.

"They have reinforcements!"

"It matters not; their giant is slain, as is their errand boy. We have won this war. Pull back, men."

The five harpoon men scurried off into the cover of night and trees just as the giant and errand boy's Calvary arrived.

"Tend to their wounds!" "Bring the cauldrons!" "Where is the apothecary?!"

The man in white let out a nostalgic sigh as he walked over to the giant and errand boy lying next to one another. He looked down at their faces, and instead of finding them in shock, they both wore large grins.

"We can live...another...day...brother..." The errand boy wheezed. It was amazing he could even breath, considering almost a third of his neck was gone.

"Indeed, brother," the giant's echoing laugh was not affected by the harpoon he sported in his torso, bobbing up and down with each muscle movement.

"Such fools..." The man in white laughed himself, sounding a lot like the errand boy who now joined in the giant's laughter. His laugh stopped cold and he looked over his shoulder. "A presence?" The woods before him dissolved; the soil, the trees, the moonlight all vanished and left only an empty white room standing. "And a celestial one, at that."

The man in white's eyebrow rose. "Not one of mine...but familiar."

The white room suddenly erupted into a brilliant flash of crimson red.

" **Finally, I have broken through to the other side..."** The voice had no voice, at least, not to those who were not on an equivalent plain.

"Ah," The man in the white suit was covering his eyes. "I'd recognize such a wonderful light show instantly, even if it has been...what, fifteen thousand years?"

The light died down, and slowly, the Crimson Dragon took form in the center of the room. **"Since we last saw one another, yes."** It then readjusted itself so that it took a less spacious form. **"I have still yet to thank you for warning me of Red Nova's intended assault."** The smaller form gazed upon the male in the white suit.

" **You...have seen better days."**

"Not recently, Crimson Dragon." The man replied with a sharp wit.

" **I was not aware of your situation."** The Crimson Dragon sounded pitiful.

"Oh please," The man laughed, lifting a cane from the wall behind him. "We all knew we were to fade into nothingness after your Signers completed their duties, thus restoring complete and utter harmony in the multiverse."

The Crimson Dragon made no attempt to confirm, nor deny the statement. **"It must be Fate-"**

"Oh, Fate," The man sounded vexed. "Whoop-de-doo."

" **Fate,"** The Crimson Dragon continued, sounding irritated. **"That you should mention my Signers."**

"What did they do this time?" The man asked with a sigh. "Did they go insane with power like their dark counterparts? Or, perhaps, they're trying to resurrect someone they should not?"

" **Actually, neither,"** In a rare display of humor the Crimson Dragon added. **"Thank me."**

The man in the white suit was quiet for what may have very well been eons. "Leave the jokes to me."

The Crimson Dragon nodded. **"Very well then."** It then looked around the room. **"I have urgent news regarding the wellbeing of your universe."**

"Then take it up with the one in charge," The man dismissed the celestial being with a wave of his cane towards his room door. "A left down the hall then take a right at the grandfather clock that ticks no more. If you pass the cherry soda fountain, you have gone too far."

If the man had not seen it before, he would have found the Crimson Dragon raising a brow a rather odd sight. **"You are no longer the leader of The Celestial Pentagon?"**

The man removed his hat, revealing a mess of white hair peppered with black and gold. "No. I, the one who entails the players selected by Fate, has been rendered..." His airy tone became sinister. "Obsolete."

Instantly, the Crimson Dragon understood. **"Very well then. I shall tell the one in charge of the imminent darkness."**

Before the Crimson Dragon could vanish, it found the man's cane placed on its right claw. "Oh, do tell."

" **I thought the matter no longer concerned you."**

"We are a group," The man explained with a large smile. "It shall concern me, eventually."

" **This is something better told to the leader."** The Crimson Dragon sounded adamant.

"The leader is currently unavailable. Check for yourself." Upon the suggestion, the Crimson Dragon expanded its presence through the realm. "See? Leave the message with me, the second in charge, and I'll ensure our great...and fair..." The words were strained. "Leader gets it."

The Crimson Dragon was now suspicious. **"You're the second in command?"**

"Who better to be the second in command than the former first?" The man offered.

" **Very well,"** The Crimson Dragon discerned. **"But ensure that this information, in its entirety, gets to your leader."**

"Of course," The man placed his hat on his head. "What kind of a Gentleman would I be if I cut corners?" The self-proclaimed Gentleman waved his hand and a chair appeared beneath him. "Now, tell me of this...imminent darkness..."

* * *

The busy city streets were calming down as the last bit of the sun's light slowly crept into the serene darkness of night. One by one, the lights of businesses and homes shut off, and soon, the entire block was veiled by darkness, save for a few street lights vicariously placed along the sidewalks.

The setting was perfect.

A lone figure stepped out of the shadows at the north end of the block. Judging by its frame and shape, the figure was male, roughly six feet in height and wore a skin tight black body suit akin to a diving suit. He slipped on a pair of night vision goggles that glowed a deep green hue over his face. Their features were totally invisible under the cover of darkness. The man slipped past a lamppost and dove into a hedge. He crawled along the soil until he reached the large condominium. He pressed his back against the wall and stood up, perking his ears near an open window.

"...still, the pickup isn't due for another few minutes..."

Beneath the material over his face, the man smiled. So, this was the right place after all. It looked like his Intel was right, as always. Not one for being cocky, the male pushed the night vision goggles onto his forehead and deactivated them. His dark green eyes scanned the surrounding area again before he retrieved a small camera from the utility belt around his waist. He used the reflective back of the camera to check inside the room; there were two men inside, both standing at the doorway with their backs to the window. The room itself was packed with wardrobes and other large objects used for storage.

The male snapped a few silent pictures of the surrounding area and then the interior before slipping into the open window. Luckily, the suit he was wearing was specifically made for silent entry – and exit. The floor was also covered in velvet carpeting, a nice stroke of good luck in the male's opinion. It would absorb what little sound his already quiet footsteps made, rendering him a ghost. All he had to do now was continue to not be seen.

"Hey, it's a little drafty. Mind if I close the window?"

The male stopped snapping photos and looked at the two guards only yards away. So much for that stroke of good luck!

"Sure, go ahead. Besides, we wouldn't want anything coming in the window. It is mosquito season after all."

The first guard gave a laugh and walked into the room. "Right? The last thing this operation needs is some annoying insect buzzing about." The guard walked over to the window and lifted his hands to close the window. He let out a yell as his foot got caught up in a bit of carpeting, causing his weight to be thrown off. He let out a grunt as he hit the windowsill and fell out of the open window.

The second guard was in the room, his arms outstretched a bit too late. "Hey, you okay?"

"Damn, that hurt!" The first guard complained, rubbing the back of his head. "What the hell, man? You'd think that with his kind of money, Eagle would be able to afford top notch carpet!"

The second guard laughed, turning away from the window. "He's probably one of those money hoarders that cut corners." He stopped when he noticed a clear rip in the fabric. He crouched low, and put a hand on the carpet. "Hey!" His voice was cautious. "Call me crazy, but I think this was messed with." He stood up and looked back to the window.

Only the silence of darkness looked back at him.

"You had better not be playing another stupid prank or I swear, I'll beat you senseless!" After a few more moments of silence, the guard lifted up a wooden chair and smashed it on the wall. Now armed with a chair leg in each hand, he advanced towards the window. "Alright, you asked for it!"

He poked his head out of the window, quickly looking left and right. He heard something shuffling in the hedge and looked down. A pair of black-cloaked hands grabbed him by the neck and yanked him out of the window head first. Before he could let out a yell, the hands around his neck tightened their grip. The guard dropped his makeshift weapons and tried to fight back, but his attacker continuously moved from his arm range. After a few seconds of flailing about, the guard fell limp. Satisfied after a few more seconds of constricting the guard's neck, the man in black drug this guard's body to the first.

Working swiftly, the man used the guards boot laces and belts to tie them up, and stuffed their socks into their mouths for good measure. He double checked to make sure their air passages weren't blocked and then sauntered back to the building. Slipping in again, the man checked the hallway. It seemed like there were no other people on the first floor, so he slid the face mask part of his body suit down and let out a loud gasp.

"Ugh!" He went into an internal pocket and pulled out a colorful bag. It was about the size of his palm and the word 'Chewiest' was clearly labeled on the front in bright colors. He opened the bag of gummy bears, and poured a few into his mouth before walking over to a large, metal locker along the left wall when facing the door. Still chewing, he nudged it with his foot. To his surprise, the door opened and revealed a large array of assorted Duel Monsters cards.

"Didn't see that coming..." He muttered to himself. He retrieved the camera again, and snapped photographs with one hand while pouring gummy bears into his mouth with the other. Wrinkling up the bag and placing it back into an internal pocket, the man then grabbed one of the cards from the locker. He looked it over for a moment, recognizing it as **Pot Of Greed** , then put it to the light.

"It's a fake." He bent the card, and sure enough, the cheap material ripped. "Eagle wouldn't deal in counterfeits, it's beneath him." The man retrieved his cellphone and entered his password. He then accessed a file that he had saved on an external memory source.

"Like I thought..." He shut his cellphone off and put it back in his pocket. "This is just some two bit counterfeit scheme, no doubt using Eagle's name to try and get some type of leg up against the competition..." The man looked around and found the nearest landline. Double checking his position and deeming it safe, he picked up the land line and waited a second. No one else was on the line.

He retrieved his cellphone once more, entered his password, and then activated a special feature on it. He then dialed the local law enforcement.

"Hello, this is the Itmas Police Department. What is your emergency?"

"Yes, I wanted to report a break in that's happening right now." His voice now sounded like that of an elderly woman.

"A breaking and entering call?" The emergency responder mimed. "And you said it's in progress?"

""Yes, yes," the male knew he had to sound urgent, but if he put too much stress on the voice changer, his own voice might slip through. Besides, he had to do a bit of the work himself, and he didn't want to risk a sore throat. "I can see strangers doing odd things. And I think I see two men who aren't moving!"

"Okay ma'am, please give me the address and I'll have a unit dispatched in no time."

"Oh no no no, one unit won't do!" The man remembered the area when he had canvased it earlier that morning. "There are a few vehicles outside, easily ten in total. You'd better get a whole task force down here." The man then rattled off the address twice before hanging up abruptly. For good measure, he added a small gasp before hanging up.

He closed the program on his phone with a triumphant smile. "That's one injustice to Duel Monsters avoided." The man's phone then vibrated once. His green eyes, their color enhanced by black irises, snapped to the screen. He checked the message twice, just to be sure he had read it right.

The man took off, putting his cellphone back into his pocket mid stride, and leaped clear out of the window. He stuck to the darker sections of the neighborhood as he headed east. Halfway to his destination, about five block away from the condominium, he stopped at a small, serene park that had a wooden bridge across a duck pond. He stopped just before the pond and climbed a tree he had marked by sticking an empty bag of gummy bears on the branch.

In the tree was a small carry bag, and inside that bag was his normal attire. He jumped out of the tree and checked the area before swiftly changing his clothes. He now wore a black leather jacket on top of a dark green t-shirt, paired with dark green cargo pants and black sneakers with green trim. On the back of the leather jacket was a sun partially eclipsed by a moon, creating a crescent shadow over the sun. The man shook out and ran his fingers through his long, green hair, his fingers traveling from black roots to black ends. Shouldering the carry bag, the man once again took off to his destination.

Another five blocks, and the man slowed down to a jog. A few yards away, his getaway vehicle awaited him. It was a crescent shaped Duel Runner if one looked at it from the side. The trim was black and covered the perimeter of the Duel Runner. The leather was black with green trim, the color scheme juxtaposing the frame which was green with black trim. There was a helmet matching the frame sitting on the controls. The man put it on and spoke into the helmet clearly.

"Voice recognition plus command: Let's move out."

The on-board computer beeped a second later. An exotic female voice then replied.

"Voice recognition, complete. Hello, Jake." The engine then hummed as it came to life. The man, addressed by his Duel Runner as Jake, placed his hands on the controls. He revved up his engine and leaned forward in his seat. The seat followed, readjusting itself within the frame.

"Let's ride, Equinox." Jake spoke into the microphone piece in his helmet. The Duel Runner's wheels burned rubber as Jake took off on Equinox. Within seconds, the only thing on the street was the dissipating plume of tire smoke.

* * *

"So your grand total is three hundred dollars."

"Three hundred dollars?" Jake repeated, giving the cashier a raised eyebrow. Jake was the only person in the terminal, requesting a late night ride on whatever ferry line was still running at almost four o'clock in the morning.

"Yes," The man behind the register began recounting Jake's expenses. "A single trip ticket on the ferry would normally cost only fifty dollars, but you asked for the express trip, which brings the price to seventy five dollars. You also requested that your Duel Runner be transported via ferry, and that's an automatic one hundred and fifty five dollars."

"That's two hundred and thirty dollars." Jake spoke evenly. "What's the seventy dollar charge supposed to cover?"

"Your dormitory expenses, sir." The cashier punched something into the computer. "It's a twenty four hour ferry – those aren't cheap, and there are meals offered on the ride. Not to mention the cost of your quarters, single room, minimum furnishing-"

"All of this on a ferry?" Jake questioned, interrupting the cashier.

"You specifically asked for the next ferry leaving the Paradigm Republic and arriving in the United County. The next ferry leaving this station for that destination is a part of Iniquity Industries Transportation."

The cashier noticed Jake's expression turn sour and decided to give him another offer. "There's a ferry owned by a private company leaving in a few hours, if you'd prefer-"

"No, this will be fine, thank you." Jake retrieved his wallet from one of the many pockets on his cargo pants.

"Will that be credit or debit, sir?" The man asked. He felt ridiculous after asking that question when Jake handed him three crisp hundred dollar bills.

"Cash." Jake replied, giving the man the money. He watched as the cashier checked to see if the bills were authentic. They were.

"Then please follow the instructions on your ticket," The man handed Jake a ticket and receipt. "So you may dock your Duel Runner on the ferry. And thank you for riding with us." Jake gave the cashier a nod and then looked around.

"Do you know if there's any candy available on the ferry? I have a bit of a sweet tooth."

"Uhm," The cashier was a bit thrown off but replied courteously. "I'm not certain, but I do know there are a few shops that sell treats on the way to the ferry terminal."

"Thanks." Jake gave a wave and headed towards his duel runner parked outside. He stopped in front of Equinox and looked it over. He then bent over and, using a set of keys in yet another one of his pockets, opened the lock of his duel runner's seat compartment. He retrieved an old looking box, about the size of a shoe box, and opened the metal latches that held it closed. He reached inside, and pulled out a picture. He stared at it longingly for a while.

In the picture was a child, undoubtedly Jake when he was younger. On either side was a man and a woman with their arms around him. The three of them wore large smiles and were surrounded by other various people, all smiling and happy as well. They were outdoors on a coastline and all dressed in summer attire.

Jake put the picture back in the box and closed it. He put the box into the seat compartment and rummaged around a bit more. He found what he was looking for; a small, gray lock box with a padlock on the front. He entered the combination and opened the box. Inside were a few bills that he counted quickly.

"Hmm," Jake sighed, closing the box. "I'm running a bit low on funds." He then locked the seat compartment and unlocked Equinox. He checked the gauges, and saw that he was running on half of a full battery. "Better walk her into the lower level vehicle storage." Jake sighed, and began to push his duel runner...

* * *

Jake pushed Equinox into the street. He slipped his helmet onto his head and looked around a bit. "Equinox, location."

"Paititi Civic, United County." After a few more beeps. "Big Wave Port, Shipping District."

"Distance to Neo Copan City?" Jake inquired, hopping on his duel runner.

"From current position to Neo Copan City border... 4,300 miles. Estimation."

"Then project a route that will get us there within three days. Set a way point to a Duel Runner service station first so that we can travel on a full battery."

"Calculating route..." Equinox continued to hum. "Route established. Set way points?"

"Yes," Jake then pulled out a flip cell phone that matched Equinox's color. "Send route to leisure cell phone, as well."

"Sending route to leisure cellphone via wireless connection. Transmitting..." Jake heard the cellphone in his hand beep. "Transmission complete."

"Good. Commence autopilot to first destination. Wake me up when we get there." Jake yawned and activated the blinder on his helmet to block out sunlight. "I could hardly sleep in that cramped room."

"The storage conditions for duel runners were rather atrocious as well." Equinox voiced its own critique of the ride.

"Wasn't it?" Jake agreed, putting his feet up on the controls.

"Incoming message." Equinox's sudden alert made Jake stop reclining.

"Sender?" Jake asked, typing on the on-screen keyboard.

"Unknown." Equinox replied, sounding cautious. "Scan contents for malicious software?"

"Also scan for a virtual trail of some sort. I don't like automated systems sending us junk mail. It clogs up your memory."

"Commencing dual scan..." Jake waited for a few minutes as Equinox worked. He watched as people walked in and out of the port, a few of them giving him and his duel runner stares. A few children waved at him, recognizing him as a turbo duelist. Jake returned those waves with a smile. Kids were a weakness of his.

"Scanning complete. No malicious software discovered. No virtual trail found."

"Odd..." Jake murmured. "If it were from our usual, they would have sent the message directly to my business phone." Jake rubbed his chin. "Open the message in safe mode, just in case."

"Opening message on removable media. Increasing firewall protection. Isolating digital information in several safe zones."

Jake watched as the screen blinked once and a black text on a white background popped up. "A typed letter?" Jake read through it twice. "With directions to pick up a package? Equinox, correlate this address with known addresses in your memory."

"Correlating... No matching address found." There was a beep accompanied by a green exclamation point on screen. "Interesting intel discovered."

"Talk to me." Jake became curious.

"The address in this message is also our first way point."

Jake disabled the blinder on his helmet so he could see the screen clearly. "You mean the one you set not even ten minutes ago?"

"Correct."

"And that's where this package is?" Jake sounded skeptic.

"According to the website of this duel runner shop, they also offer storage for various duel runner parts should the need arise. You may then send for the items you stored or pick them up yourself, or even have someone pick them up so long as they carry the proper identification number and have been told someone else will be picking up the item in question."

"Sounds convenient." Jake was now on guard. Not only did this message have no origin, but now it also knew his route not too long after he planned it? "Too convenient."

"Should I terminate the message and recalculate an alternative route?" Equinox asked, a confirmation message popping up on screen.

Jake thought it over for a moment. "Since there was no malicious software on the message, we can assume whoever sent us the message can't be all bad. Not to mention it'd be rude if I just left their gift sitting in some old locker." Jake tapped the 'No' option on screen.

"Carrying on as planned." Equinox began to pull off. Jake reclined into the seat, placing his feet on the controls.

"Now you _really_ have to wake me up when we get there..." Jake mumbled.

"I do not understand." Equinox replied. "While this does warrant an increase of vigilance, you speak as though you're aware of something else."

"Aren't you the perceptive piece of software?" Jake chuckled.

"I'm an artificial intelligence that continues to learn." Equinox then added. "Thank you very much."

"I see that personality program is running smoothly." Jake laughed. "And to answer your question, I have the oddest feeling that whatever it is waiting for us in that locker is just the beginning of something even worse than what I was anticipating upon returning to Neo Copan."

The uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach Jake felt when leaving Itmas was slowly beginning to increase exponentially...

* * *

 _And with that, the first revised chapter of TCvTW:ATAD is completed! Leave a review and let me know what you think of the revision! The update schedule for new chapters will be a new chapter every two to three weeks, unless events allow me to release them either earlier or later._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Celestia vs. The World – Revised**!

Ambition That Attracts Darkness

Opening Arc

* * *

 _The first duel of TCvTW takes place! As you read, you'll notice I use a certain system to demonstrate what's going on as the duel progresses. It looks like this:_

 _Status:_

 _X's LP: X000 Hand: X many cards Monsters: X amount & position S/T: x amount & position_

 _Y's LP: X000 Hand: X many cards Monsters: X amount & position S/T: x amount & position_

 _LP stands for Life Points, and S/T stands for Spell/Trap card zone. You'll notice is that cards played for the first time will be in_ **bold.** _Afterward, they will be typed in normal text. Why? Because it makes it easier for you, to go back and see who played what and when. Whenever a monster is summoned, its stats will be displayed in this format:_ _100/_ _100._

 _The first number represents the monster's Attack stat. The second number represents the monster's Defense stat. The number that is underlined corresponds with the position of the monster. If the Attack stat is underlined, then the monster is in attack position._

 _One final detail; cards that are in_ **bold** _and have apostrophes on both sides_ **'like this'** _are Custom Cards and will have their information listed at the end of the chapter. Keep in mind that these are NOT cards in real circulation and are owned by various members of Fanfiction. So if you like them and would like to feature them in your stories, you'll have to take it up with the owners._

 _Another thing: In the previous version of TCvTW, I described every single monster that was summoned during a duel. It was a nice little luxury, but I realize now that if you really want to see the card, look it up online. The only monsters that I need to detail are the more pivotal monsters and even key custom monsters that will be featured in the story._

 _Story ago-go!_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: A Strange Package, A Misfit Gang and... A Blue-Eyes White Dragon?**

Many people stared at the sight in wonder. While duelists riding on specialized motorcycles crafted for the purpose of playing a card game at high speeds had become a common thing in recent years, seeing one control a Duel Runner with their _feet_ was truly a spectacle. So you could imagine how their reactions of shock and surprise exploded into gasps and comments of utter disbelief when they realized that the green haired duelist was piloting his Duel Runner with his feet while he was _asleep._

"We have reached our destination." Equinox slowly pulled up to the sidewalk. Jake let out a grunt and shook himself awake. "Automatically engaging temporary safety lock."

Jake let out a yawn and forced himself off of Equinox. He stretched his body for a few moments before looking at the duel runner shop. "This place has seen better days, huh?"

The place was called 'Right as Rain Repairs'. Its name was advertised above the store in letters that, judging by the light bulbs inside of each letter, lit up at night. Its slogan was also advertised: " _We keep your duel runner running!_ " The sign looked a bit worn, but the building itself looked much worse for wear.

It was a single story complex that simply looked like a gas station with a side annex for working on multiple Duel Runners at once. There was the main section of the shop where people would make their orders and select parts, a section used solely for refueling on the right hand side, and the left hand side, the largest section of the building, currently had three duel runners being worked on by a number of stereotypical 'grease monkeys'.

"I don't like it." Jake looked over his shoulder at Equinox.

"Current fuel level is below ten percent." Equinox's 'voice' reminded Jake. "Objectives; refill fuel and pick up the package referenced in the email from the unknown sender."

"You're right, you're right," Jake grimaced. "I don't have to like the place. Besides, we should be out of Paititi Civic before the sun sets." Jake looked up at the sky and let out a huff. "It's been years since I've been home."

"Would you fill my tank before reminiscing, Jake?" Equinox ruined Jake's nostalgic moment. Jake grumbled and made his way towards the gas station. The bells chimed as Jake walked in, and a male clerk roughly around his age greeted him cheerily.

"Yo!" The clerk waved.

"Hey," Jake waved back. "How's your day goin'?" Jake made small talk.

"A lot like the gas we pump." The guy grinned. "Good overall quality, but a pretty slow burn rate."

Jake laughed. "Nice one."

"Just came up with it." The clerk's grin grew a bit. "How's it going for a guy with such a sweet ride?" He pointed through the large windows at the green duel runner.

"A lot like my ride here," Jake checked out the stock of candy. "Drifting on autopilot and in desperate need for fuel." The clerk gave Jake a chuckle. "Got any good eats around here?"

"We got a deli. May not have the widest selection, but I can make a mean ham and cheese."

"I'll take two of those," Jake picked up a bag of gummy candy. "Three of these, and a few gallons of the purest gas you got. High octane, low fuel emission."

The clerk raised an eyebrow. "A Duel Runner that runs off of gas? Isn't she a rarity." 'She' referred to Jake's duel runner, not that the clerk knew that Jake molded the computer after a female. It was common for vehicles to be referred to as females. Jake never really knew, nor cared, why, though...

"I prefer for her to run off of electricity," Jake kept the details to a minimum. "But since the engine is a multi-hybrid custom model, she can run electricity and gasoline. I stock up on both as often as I can."

The clerk whistled. "What's her base octane, then, if I may ask?"

"Ninety-five." Jake pulled out his wallet as the clerk gasped. "How much is that all together?"

"Two ham and cheeses, three bags of candy, a full charge and reformulated premium gasoline. How many gallons?"

"Until she's full, and a little extra in a carry tin. I'd say six." Jake watched as the register ringed up. He frowned at the numbers on screen.

"Yeah," The clerk noticed the look on Jake's face. "The price of gas keeps going up. Wanna make that four gallons instead?" Jake shook his head.

"I need the fuel and I can cover the cost... I just won't be sleeping in a bed tonight." Jake let out a sad laugh then checked his wallet. "I'm not carrying everything on me. Rest of it is on my ride."

"Well then," The clerk sounded nervous. "You may wanna check on your ride because there's a few shady people checking her out." He pointed out of the window. Jake spun around, and sure enough, three guys formed a circle around Equinox.

"That's my girl for you," He chuckled. "Drawing all the guy's attention."

"Listen, buddy," The clerk began. "You seem alright by me, so I'll tell you this now. Those guys are a part of a gang around here, and you don't look like you're exactly familiar with the area..."

"That I'm not," Jake understood what the clerk was trying to tell him.

"So, I'll just give the local authorities a ring-"

"No need," Jake shrugged it off. "I've got this." He then remembered the second objective he received in the mail "Oh, and could you get me the item kept in this locker number?" Jake slipped the clerk a slip of paper with the number from the email. The clerk looked at the number and then to Jake incredulously.

"I didn't think anyone would ever come to pick this up!"

"It's been here long?" Jake asked, suspicious.

"Long? That thing was dropped off when I was twelve."

"And you're what? Twenty?" Jake asked, masking the surprise in his voice perfectly.

"Twenty two." The clerk chuckled, happy to still seem youthful. "Still, I'm surprised that we kept the darn thing. Then again, they never missed a payment-"

"Tell me about it after I get back, okay?" Jake waved the clerk off as the bells chimed. "And make sure you have whatever that package is and one of those sandwiches ready!" Jake casually walked out of the store towards his duel runner. One of the three men, a man with sunglasses, a black tank top and a spikey Mohawk, was inspecting the driver seat and the controls.

"Where's the ignition on this thing?" He asked his comrades.

"Don't know," replied the larger male with no shirt. "But look at the wheels. That's a custom job."

"Color's a bit odd, though." The third, short and scrawny male with large earrings critiqued. He also had a stud going through his nose. "And the frame is unappealing."

"Everyone's a critic..." Jake hissed under his breath. His eyes widened as the Mohawk male went to put his hands on the clutch. "Don't!" The moment the boy touched it, Equinox's alarm went off, making loud blaring noises and beeps as the headlights flashed on and off. The three men moved away from the duel runner, covering their ears. Jake jogged forward and punched in a code on the touch screen computer. The alarm shut down instantly.

"Jeez man," the fat one complained. "That gave me a heart attack."

"I'm surprised it wasn't the extra fries..." The studded man snarked. The fat one glared at him, but made no sign of response.

"Smooth ride, man." The Mohawk man addressed Jake who now put Equinox into neutral and began to push the vehicle into a pumping lane.

"Thanks," Jake spoke nonchalantly. "Made it myself."

"Really?" The earrings one chirped. "That's a unique style." His voice was cynic.

"Yeah," Jake sounded equally cynical. "Color's a bit odd, though. And the frame's unappealing." He then shot the pierced man a dirty look. He huffed, clearly upset he had been heard, but too prideful to admit it. The larger man laughed openly at Jake's comment.

"So," the Mohawk man followed Jake to the pump, eyeing the rotating wheels. "How much you want for it?"

" _It,_ " Jake nearly growled. "Is not for sale." Jake noticed the man dart forward as he went for the pump. The man hopped on the duel runner and revved the engine.

"Later, sucker!" He cackled and began to roll off.

"Initiate return mode." Jake spoke calmly, not even bothering to turn around. Equinox, already touching the asphalt, stopped, flinging the man off the motorcycle. It then reversed on its own and wheeled back to where Jake waited with the gas pump. "Good girl." Jake whispered to Equinox, inserting the gas pump. With a loud 'click' the brakes set and metal guards fell over the wheels. Jake now knew that Equinox was going nowhere.

"So," Jake walked towards the Mohawk'd one who was trying to get on his feet. "What do you want broken first? Your arm or your jaw?"

"You miserable little-" The Mohawk man looked at his two fellow gang members. "Get hi-" He crumpled to the ground after Jake slugged him across the chin.

"Jaw it is." Jake shook his hand, frowning that the blow wasn't a clean hit. "Your Mohawk is stupid, by the way." Jake added insult to the injury. Jake flexed his fingers and looked at the other two gang members. "Who's next?" He then looked to the one with the large loop earrings. "Why not you, Pin cushion?"

"Pin – Pin cushion?!" That obviously upset him. He rushed Jake, arms wide open in an attempt to grab him. Jake stepped to the side, and roundhouse kicked him in the face. He, too, crumpled after one hit.

Jake looked at the larger man with a bit of a cocky grin. "So, we gonna do this?" The larger man shook his head furiously. "Smart." Jake then pointed over his shoulder at Equinox. "I saw you looking at the wheels. Did you notice the black trim inside of the green frame?"

"Y-yeah, actually." The man gulped, nervous to speak at first. "I thought it was a nice touch." He watched as Jake nodded in appreciation. "Matched the color scheme of the controls well."

"Oh, you noticed?" Jake walked over to Equinox and casually leaned against it. He looked down at the two unconscious men on the ground. "So...you don't get along with them well?" Jake's skills at reading people shone through.

The larger man shook his head. "They're jerks, and I just met them today." After a few moments of silence he added. "They make fun of my weight."

"That's just beyond rude..." Jake clicked his tongue. "Want me to hit them again when they wake up?" The larger man laughed and nodded. "Done. What's your name, by the way?"

"The boss gave me my name." He then sighed. "It's Tubbs."

"That's not even – ugh..." Jake felt pity for the teenager. "What's your _real_ name?"

"Trust me," the man laughed, sounding jolly. "Tubbs is _way_ better."

Jake chuckled. "I'll take your word for it. What about those two?"

"I know that one's Pierce." He pointed to the man with the Mohawk. "And I think that's...Spike." He then pointed to the man with the many piercings.

"Huh," Jake marveled. "You'd think that'd be reversed..."

"Yeah, I wondered the same thing." Tubbs chuckled. "Sorry about your ride, though."

Jake lifted an eyebrow. "You're apologizing for attempted grand theft auto? Well, being an accessory..."

"I was really just admiring it. It was Spike who wanted to steal it." Tubbs looked around before adding: "Not even the boss likes stealing."

"The boss?" Tubbs nodded to Jake. "He doesn't like it, but does he still allow theft?" Tubbs nodded again. Jake sighed.

"Oh!" Tubbs closed the distance between him and Jake, but did not block his path. "The boss might be on his way here to check out your ride, since Spike called it in as an official grab."

"An official grab?" Jake mimed. He noticed the clerk peek outside.

"Yeah, we've got to keep records of what we jack. You know, for expenses and gang rankings and stuff. But, since Spike hasn't called back, he's most likely on his way to investigate himself. You should take off before he gets here!"

"Why are you helping me out?" Jake asked cautiously. "Isn't going against your gang a huge risk?"

Tubbs shrugged. "They're only based in this part of town, and my family is moving soon. I figured I'd clean up my act and become a dentist, or something."

Jake laughed. "You really are a smart kid." It was then he heard loud music from a few blocks down. "What is that awful racket?!"

"That's the boss' custom track," Tubbs explained. "He blares it to let people know he's in a rush and to get out of his way."

"That so called music is definitely a repellent." Jake shuddered. "It sounds like techno, heavy metal and percussion all had a very, very ugly baby and tried to bury it in bluegrass." Tubbs fell to the ground in laughter at Jake's description of the music. Jake, with a prominent frown on his face, watched as a beat up car pulled up to the gas station. There was so much graffiti and other frame issues that Jake could not recognize the car type, other than it was a four door sedan.

The music only got louder as the driver door opened. Jake watched as a man about his height scanned the street. He was bald with a slanted hook shaped scar going down the back of his head from behind his left ear and ending on the right side of his chin. He wore a leather jacket and pants with combat boots.

"Are those... spurs?" Jake held in a laugh as the driver of the sedan walked around the car, the metal accessories of his shoes jingling with each step. "Oh my goodness; those are spurs, and he's not even wearing cowboy boots."

The driver stopped in front of the gas station and surveyed the area. He saw two of his boys lying unconscious on the ground, and the third was writhing with a pained expression on his face. There was also a man in green with a very smug half-grin on his face.

"So," His voice was gruff. It, along with his music, would be a pain to any sane pair of ears. "You're the chump who my boys were gonna jack?" He then looked over to the green duel runner. "Huh. Nice ride."

"Thanks." Jake's voice held no humor; this 'boss' had called him a chump, and Jake did not appreciate that.

"I could probably get a good part or two if I scrapped it."

Jake gritted his teeth. '(This guy is going down.)' Jake clenched his fist. It wasn't until now that Jake noticed a standard model duel disk on his wrist. The 'boss' caught the look in Jake's eye when he spotted the duel disk.

"You're a duelist, judging by your duel runner." The 'boss' held up his duel disk. "I'm a duelist. Let's duel."

Jake raised an eyebrow. He wanted to settle this with his fists, not with a card game. "A duel?" Jake let his voice convey his dismay.

"Yeah, that's fair, right?" The leader of the gang gave a cruel grin. "You'd rather that than get jumped by seven guys, right?"

Jake watched as three more gang members emerged from the car their leader drove. Tubbs heard this and stood. To Jake's surprise, both Spike and Pierce also got up, rubbing their faces. The six goons regrouped behind their leader.

"I've done better in worse situations." Jake spoke in a no nonsense tone. The Leader laughed; it was even more annoying than his voice.

"I like your cockiness, kid." Jake scowled; this 'Leader' couldn't have been more than four years older than himself. "But see, I just got this sweet new deck, so I'm in a good mood. I'll let you duel me, one on one, and if ya win, you and your duel runner can get the hell out of my town. Heck, we can even start with eight thousand life points!"

"But boss!" Pierce, the Mohawk sporting individual, spoke up. "He-"

"Shut it." Leader quipped, silencing the male. Jake sighed and pulled out his flip phone. He punched a few keys, earning a look from Leader. "Calling for back up?"

Jake watched his screen; a message popped up in green text: _Tank capacity below fifty percent_. He punched in a specific code, and Equinox beeped.

"Disengaging duel disk." Leader and his crew looked to Equinox in surprise.

"Whoa," Leader breathed. "It talks." He watched as Jake walked to the duel runner and dislodge his own standard model duel disk from his vehicle. "And its remote controlled." He whistled. "Maybe I won't scrap it after I win it."

"Here's the deal," Jake yelled so that Leader could hear him over the music that was still blasting from the car. "If you win, you get my duel runner. If I win, you and your breakfast club cover my bill." He pointed to the gas tank's price meter that was still rolling over. "And I get out of 'your town'."

Leader laughed. "That's it? You get the chance to ask for anything from strongest gang in town-"

"The only gang in town." Jake interrupted. He had spoken louder than anticipated, and Leader apparently heard him -especially since the music subsided. "So that nasty music decides to end now of all times?" Jake watched as the Leader bore an even more aggressive expression.

"You can beat up my men, and you can even mock my gang," Leader pointed at Jake and spat; "But no one, and I mean _no one_ disrespects my song!" As he finished his sentence, the music looped and started again. Jake rubbed his temples, truly considering just knocking them out.

"You've ruined my good mood, Greenie. Now, if I win, we get your duel runner, and you!"

"Fine!" Jake snapped. "And, _when_ I win, all of you will wash my ride and give me _all_ of your money!"

"Agreed!" Leader snapped back, engaging his duel disk. "Looks like I'll be getting a new member!"

"Just turn off that garbage before we duel! I refuse to duel to the sound of cats being beaten with a cheese grater!"

* * *

 **Jake's Life Points: 8000**

 **Gang Leader's Life Points: 8000**

"Let's duel!" Both duelists declared, drawing five cards after the automatic shuffler stopped. To Jake's delight, the song playing on the Gang Leader's stereo stopped when one of the goons stuck his hand into the car and turned off the track. Now, Jake could concentrate.

"I'll go first!" Leader drew a card. "I'll summon my **Warrior Dai-Grepher** in attack mode!" ( 1700/1500) "Next, I'll equip him with **Lucky Iron Axe**! With it, he gains five hundred attack points. (1700 – 2200 ATK) I'll set one card and end my turn."

"My move," Jake drew a card and checked his opponent's field, his Warrior Dai-Grepher in particular. Something about the card seemed off; was it the color? "I'll summon **'Ataguchu'**! ( 900/0) Next, I'll use his effect. I declare one of the three Card Types: Monster, Spell or Trap, then reveal the top card of my Deck. If I call it right, I can add that card to my hand, but if it's wrong, I chuck the card and Ataguchu goes into Defense mode. I say the next card on the top of my Deck is a monster!"

Jake drew another card and placed it face-down on his duel disk. Beside him, a hologram of the card popped up. "It's a monster, just as I thought!" Jake grinned and placed the card in his hand.

"Lucky break, kid."

"Probably. Now, I'll set two cards and end my turn."

"I'll draw, and then I'll have my Warrior attack your weak monster!"

"I'll activate my trap card; **Defense Draw**! I take no damage from the attack, and I get to draw a card." Jake moved Ataguchu from his field into his Graveyard, then drew a card.

"You trying to draw something strong enough to stop my Warrior?" The Leader let out a chuckle while Jake remained inert. "I'll set a monster and call it a turn."

"You get him, Boss!" Pierce shouted from the sidelines.

"I'll set a monster, and another card in my back row. Your move." Jake declared the end of his turn.

"His luck's already run out!" Spike also jumped on the bandwagon.

 _Status:_

 _Jake: LP: 8000 Hand: 4 Field: 1 Set monster, Two Face-down S/T_

 _Gang Leader: LP: 8000 Hand: 4 Field: 1 Monster. One Face-down S/T_

"I'll activate my **Shield Crush** spell card," Leader played the card he drew on his Draw Phase. "And destroy your Defense position monster!"

"Since **Supay** was destroyed by a card effect," Both Jake and Leader watched the monster revealed on Jake's last turn, an orange mask, vanish. "I can bring out my **Oracle Of The Sun** in attack mode, directly from my deck! Plus, since it was summoned by Supay's effect, its attack is doubled!" ( 2000/2000)

"Its doubled attack is still nothing for Grepher! Attack!"

"Go, **Dust Tornado**! Destroy his Lucky Iron Axe!" Jake activated another trap card.

Dai Grepher's Attack: 2200-1700

Oracles's Attack: 2000

1700-2000 = -300

Leader's LP: 8000 – 7700

"Since Lucky Iron Axe was destroyed by your card effect. I can draw. Oh, and look at that. Since she was added to my hand by a card effect, I can Special Summon my **Rose Fairy** from my hand! I'll bring her out in defense mode." (600/ 1300). A fairy adorned in orange appeared next to the Gang Leader.

"Psst..." Pierce began, addressing Spike. "Isn't that the boss' favorite card?"

"Yeah," Spike huffed. "I guess he decided to stick his favorite card into that new deck of his."

"Knowing the boss? He probably mixed the two decks." Pierce noticed that Jake was scanning the cards in his hand with interest. "Still, the green guy doesn't have a chance."

"I'll use Dust Tornado's second effect, and Set another Spell or Trap card in my hand!" Jake placed another card in his Spell/Trap card zone.

"I'll end my turn with a set monster. It's your move, Greenie."

 _Status:_

 _Jake: 3 cards In hand. One monster. Two S/T face-down_

 _Leader: 3 cards in hand. Three monsters, Two Set. Two Face-down S/T_

"Oracle is returned to my hand during the End Phase of the turn it was summoned by Supay's effect. But now it's my turn. Draw!" Jake scanned his hand, "Since you control monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon my monster once more. Come on out, Oracle! Now that he's in defense mode and here to stay, I'll bring out **Apocatequil**!"

"Go trap card, **Treacherous Trap Hole**! Since I have no traps in my grave, I can destroy two monsters on the field and I choose yours!" A large crater opened up on Jake's side of the field and both of his monsters fell in. Debris fell in after them, and pixels rose up from the hole.

"Since Oracle was destroyed and sent to the grave, I can add my Fire Ant Ascator to my hand. Next, since Apocatequil was sent to the grave, I can special summon my Oracle of the Sun from my Graveyard! C'mon back, again in defense mode!"

"Why won't that Oracle just stay down; can't it see it doesn't stand a chance?"

"Finally, I'll set a third card. Your move."

He drew. "Finally is right! First, I'll change Rose Fairy to attack mode. Now, by releasing my two Set monsters, I can bring out my **Blue-Eyes White Dragon**!"

"Of course he'd keep his Fairy..." Spike muttered. He then did a double take, but Pierce beat him to the punch.

"Did he just say-" Pierce was stunned.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon?!" Spike wasn't too far behind, his attention no longer on Rose Fairy.

"His new deck has a Blue-Eyes?!" Tubbs shot Jake a cautious look. "Can he beat it?"

"How could you possess a copy of Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Jake was astounded. "There were only four made in the entire world, and Seto Kaiba declared that he'll be buried with three of them rather than have anyone else get them! How could a beatnik like you have the fourth?!"

The two set monsters vanished and a gray haze descended over the field. Light emerged from the ground, and out of the light, with an immense roar, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon rose. Jake noticed something off about the dragon; its scales weren't white; they looked closer to the color silver and the blue eyes were a bit darker than blue...

Even with its odd coloring, this monster still boasted the legendary dragon's 3000 attack stat.

"You just called me a beatnik?!" The Gang Leader was stumped. "Who even says that anymore? Blue-Eyes! Attack his Oracle with White Lightning!"

"I reveal my **Floral Shield**! I can negate an attack, and draw a card!" Jake flipped the trap card he set last turn.

"You'll be drawing, alright, but my attack will go through! Go, **Dark Bribe** counter trap card! Negate his trap's activation and destroy it!"

Jake drew a card, and watched as his Oracle was wiped out by a silver beam of light.

"Now my Rose Fairy can attack you directly!"

Jake: 8000 – 7400

Jake stood unflinching as the orange clad fairy returned to the Leader's side of the field. Leader smiled smugly as he stood in between the Blue-Eyes and his Fairy.

"It's my turn, so I'll draw," Jake glanced at his card. "And I'll activate **One Day Of Peace**! Neither of us take damage until the End Phase of your next turn, and we each can draw a card. Now, I'll summon my **Fire Ant Ascator** ( 700/1300), and attack your so-called Blue-Eyes!"

"Is he nuts?" Tubbs shouted.

"He's going to fight a dragon with an ant?!" Pierce was astounded.

"Bad color coordination and terrible math skills..." Spike clicked his tongue.

Jake's Fire Ant charged the Dragon, but was crushed beneath its foot. "Now, since Fire Ant was destroyed by battle, I can bring back one level five monster from my grave! Oracle, return to the field!

"Will you get over that darn Oracle!"

"I'll chain my Trap Card to the summoning of my Oracle: **Call of the Reaper**! With this, whenever a monster is Special Summoned from my Graveyard, I can also bring back my Fire Ant Ascator!" The still shimmering pixels of Jake's Ant reassembled into his monster. "And now that it's my Main Phase 2, I'll perform a Synchro Summon!"

"Synchro summon?!" The Gang Leader gasped. "That Ant's a tuner?"

The Ant became three level stars inside of a green ring. The animal skin clad male became five level stars that aligned with the three stars of the Fire Ant. The green ring grew larger as the level stars formed a circle. Jake lifted his hand towards the stars rapidly rotating inside of the large green circle.

"The Sun's light and warmth envelop all of creation. The blinding light shuns those that would close their eyes to the truth. My eyes are open, my vision is clear and my heart, full of your wisdom."

The green circle turned orange, its light forming wisps that made it resemble the sun. Four serpentine heads emerged from the center consecutively, each red-orange in color and sprouting long whiskers. The quadruple headed dragon roared as its sun shone brightly.

"Illuminate my path, **Sun Dragon Inti**!"

 _Status:_

 _Jake: 4 cards in hand, 0 S/T, one monster: 3000ATK_

 _Leader: 4 cards in hand, 1 S/T, one monster: 3000 ATK_

"He Synchro Summoned a dragon of his own..." The Leader's goons were all in awe.

"That's the end of my turn." Jake sported a confident half-grin.

"Not bad, pulling off a monster that can rival my mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Leader drew a card from his deck and gave Jake a sneer. "But now, I'll show you just how powerful this new deck of mine is! I'll activate my spell card **Hammer Shot**! It destroys the face-up attack position monster with the highest attack on the field!"

"Both our monster attack points are tied, so that means-"

"That means I can choose which monster gets destroyed, and I choose your Inti!" Leader cackled as Jake's dragon was crushed beneath a giant orange mallet. "Now that you have no monsters on the field, I attack you directly!"

"Did you forget about **One Day of Peace**? I take no damage from your attack!" Jake covered his eyes as the silver blast washed over him harmlessly.

"Tch... I got too excited. Your move, Greenie."

"Draw! I'll activate my spell card ' **Inca Summoning Ritual'**!" Jake slipped a card into his Spell/Trap card zone on his duel disk. "It allows me to special summon one 'Fire Ant Ascator' or 'Supay' from my Graveyard, along with a monster with 1000 or less attack points. Come back to me, Supay and Oracle of the Sun!"

"Again with that Oracle?!" The Leader then realized. "That Supay is also a tuner?!"

"Yes it is!" Jake smiled, pointing to the orange mask on his field. "Now I'll perform a second Synchro summon, using my Supay and Oracle!" The orange mask became one level star inside of a green ring. The animal skin clad male became five level stars that aligned with the single star of Supay. The green ring grew larger as the six level stars formed a circle. Jake lifted his hand towards the six stars rapidly rotating inside of the large green circle.

"The Moon's glow encompasses all, and its shadow is ever present on all creation. The shimmering light purges all that would close their eyes to the tyranny. My eyes are open, my vision is clear and my heart, full of your wisdom."

The green circle turned navy blue, its light forming shadows that resembled craters on the moon. Four serpentine heads emerged from the center consecutively, each navy blue and cyan in color and sprouting long whiskers. The quadruple headed dragon roared as its moon shone brightly.

"Give me courage, **Moon Dragon Quilla!"** (2500/ 2000)

"Your move." Jake spoke as the four heads coiled together into a spherical ball.

"Ha! That dragon is nowhere near as strong as mine!" Leader exclaimed, drawing a card. "Blue-Eyes, attack!"

"When Quilla is attacked, I gain life points equal to half of the attacking monster's attack points!"

Jake LP: 7400 + 1500 = 8900

"And when it's destroyed," The cyan pixels Jake's Quilla exploded into changed to a bright orange color. "I can Special Summon my Sun Dragon Inti immediately from my Graveyard!"

"What?!" Leader grimaced as Jake's Sun Dragon took to the field once more. "Your monsters just won't stay down! I'll set a card, and call it a turn."

Jake drew a card '(Although our monsters are at a stalemate, I have more life points.)' He thought as he looked at his hand. '(Still, that's a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on his side of the field, even if it looks – wait a minute!)' Jake remembered some information he had received while in the middle of his last endeavor. '(Is it possible that...)'

"Where'd you get that deck of yours?" Jake inquired.

"Oh? Admiring my deck, are you?" Leader chuckled smugly.

"Something like that." Jake's tone was empty.

"I got it from some punk from Itmas, trying to move in on my turf." Leader then raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you?"

"Did you look at the card?" Jake asked with precaution.

"Yeah," Leader snapped, pointing at the card on his duel disk. "It's the Blue-Eyes friggin' White Dragon. Everybody knows this card."

"Look at the hologram, then." Jake retaliated. "Isn't there something _off_ about your 'legendary' dragon?"

"What are you getting at, Greenie?"

"Nothing," Jake smirked. "Just that your White Dragon's eyes look a little blood shot. And _purple._ "

"You calling my card a fake?"

"You tell me." Jake set a monster and a card on the field. "It's your move."

 _Status:_

 _Jake: LP: 8900 Hand: 2 Field: Monsters; 1 (3000 ATK) S/T: 3 Set_

 _Gang Leader: LP: 7700 Hand: 2 Monsters: 2 (3000 ATK, 600ATK) S/T: 2 Set_

"I'll tell you this!" Leader drew a card and placed it in his hand. He then plucked a different card from his hand and placed it in his Spell/Trap card zone. " **Stop Attack** shifts your lame dragon into defense mode." Like the dragon before it, Inti coiled itself into a spherical shape.

Sun Dragon Inti – 3000/2800

"And now, my Blue-Eyes can destroy your so called mighty dragon! White Lightning Attack!"

"Since Inti was destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, its effect triggers!" The Leader's Blue-Eyes let out a roar before exploding into pixels. The pixels levitated in the air for a moment, then turned around and faced Leader. "Any monster that destroys Inti in battle is destroyed in return, and then you take damage equal to half of its attack!"

Leader's LP: 7700 – 1500 = 6200

"Tch, I'll just use my **Birthwright** and bring back my Blue-Eyes to the field to attack you again!" One of his face-down cards revealed itself and glowed white. His Blue-Eyes White Dragon card emerged from the card frame with an echoing roar.

"Not so fast! The cycle of the sun and moon continues with my ' **Battlefield Torch Pass'** Trap Card!" Jake flipped one of his face-down cards face-up. "If a monster I controlled had an effect trigger during battle, and it is destroyed in the same battle, I can Special Summon one monster of the same type and with a lower level from my Graveyard. Welcome back, Moon Dragon Quilla!"

"Grr..." Leader stared at the smug look on Jake's face. "Your stupid dragons just won't lie down and accept defeat!"

"They take after their owners; both original and current." Jake smirked at the Gang Leader. He seemed a bit thrown off, but shrugged off the comment.

"I'll attack your Moon Dragon Quilla!" He declared, his face turning red with frustration.

"And that makes its effect trigger!"

Jake's LP: 8900 + 1500 = 10400

"Honestly," Jake smiled as the cyan pixels turned orange and reformed to make his Sun Dragon Quilla. "You think you would have learned by now..."

"His face just got all red..." Spike sighed.

"He's gotten upset, and now he won't think clearly." Pierce shook his head.

"I'll set one final card, and end my turn..." Leader grumbled, his eyes staring holes into Jake. "Stupid sun and moon dragons..."

"Now I'll draw, and begin to bring this duel to an end!" Jake pulled a card from his deck. He looked at it with a grin before announcing: "During the following Standby Phase of a turn Inti was destroyed, Quilla comes back to my field!" With a glow of cyan light, Jake's Moon Dragon Quilla re-appeared next to Inti.

"Neither dragon is strong enough to take out my Blue-Eyes!"

"But my trap card is! Since all four card zones in this column are occupied, I can activate **Blasting Fuse** and destroy them!"

Blasting Fuse, Moon Dragon Quilla, Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Birthwright were destroyed.

"And I'll follow that up with my last face-down card; **Michizure**! When a monster card on the field is destroyed, I can destroy another one! So say goodbye to your Rose Fairy!"

"No, not my favorite card!" The Gang Leader complained. "You'll pay for destroying my fairy!"

Jake, clearly in the zone, paid the Gang Leader no mind. "Now I'll activate my **Temple of the Sun** spell card from my hand. It gives all monsters I control that have been Special Summoned from the Graveyard a bonus three hundred attack and defense points!"

Sun Dragon Quilla: 3000 – 3300

"And I'll activate one last spell card; **Autonomous Action Unit**! And with it..."

"No!" Leader's eyes widened.

"For the cost of fifteen hundred Life Points, I'll Special Summon-"

"No no!" Leader's face became red again.

"From _your_ graveyard-"

"No no no!"

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Jake's LP: 10400 – 1500 = 8900

"And since I have Temple Of The Sun on my field, your Special Summoned Blue-Eyes gains 300 attack points since it's on my side of the field!" Jake pointed to the Purple-Eyes Silver Dragon that appeared on his side of the field.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon: 3000 – 3300

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, White Lightning Attack!" Jake smiled inwardly. '(Even if this card is a fake, I've always wanted to say that.)'

Leader's LP: 6200 – 3300 = 2900

"Gah," The Gang Leader uncovered his eyes, and spotted his face-down cards. "Did you forget about my traps? I'll activate all three of my 'Jar of Greed!' I can draw a total of 3 cards!" He pulled three cards at once and silently whispered "Come on, **Kuriboh**..."

"Sun Dragon Inti, show him our might! Solar Crimson Purge!" Jake wasted no time once he saw the defeated look on the Gang Leader's face.

"Nooooooooo!" Leader yelled as he was engulfed in crimson and orange light, the last card he drew being a winking **Winged Kuriboh**.

* * *

"Hey, hey!" Jake complained, pointing to the wheels of Equinox. "Make sure you get into the axels; I drove through some mud on the way here and I don't want it caking up!" He then bit into his third ham and cheese sandwich. "These are pretty good."

"I told you I make a mean ham and cheese," The store clerk watched as the Gang Leader, Spike, Pierce, and the three other gang members scrubbed down Equinox. "Still, why did you let the big guy get away? Tubbs, was it?"

"He's supposed to be getting more soap," Jake then smiled to himself. "But, I guess he ran off. Ah well. He's learned his lesson, anyway."

Jake looked at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card in his hand. Leader looked back and watched as Jake smudged a bit of mustard on the surface.

"What the heck, man?!" Leader yelled, standing up.

"It's a fake." Jake pushed his thumb through the middle of the card, puncturing the card and nearly ripping it in half. Leader watched as Jake shook his hand, and the two halves fluttered to the ground. "See? The blend of materials is off, which results in duel disks reading the image on the card wrong and causes holographic errors, even though it looks right to the naked eye of the average person." Jake explained bluntly as the Leader's look of disbelief grew. "If it were a real card, I would have needed both hands to rip it. Not to mention the card isn't known as the 'Purple-Eyes Silver Dragon'."

"You're saying that deck I jacked..."

"Was composed entirely of counterfeit cards." Jake finished the sentence. "And you then mixed in with your own deck, totally throwing off the balance of the two decks." Jake scoffed. "Rather fitting, actually. Someone who would steal a person's deck doesn't deserve to own such a powerful card, or even be a duelist for that matter." Jake reached into his pocket and retrieved a feeble wad of bills. "And after you guys covered my expenses, you hardly had any money left over."

"You're an odd one, you know that?" The clerk laughed, "Oh," He lifted up a box from the ground. "Here's the pack- look out!" The clerk stepped backwards into the gas station. Jake turned around just in time to see Leader coming at him with a carjack.

With little reaction time, Jake lifted his left arm to block the attack. The carjack hit Jake's duel disk, resulting in a loud crack and a split card zone. Surprised by Jake's reflexes, Leader jumped back to get some distance. Jake looked down at his broken duel disk; the life point indicator blinked four zeroes before going dim.

"This was a gift..." Jake whispered in subdued rage. He then looked up at Leader – only to find the man running back to his car.

"Cheese it, boys!" Leader shouted. "We may have been defeated, but we'll have our reven-ugh!" Leader fell forward face first as the broken duel disk flipped off of the back of his head. Both Leader and the duel disk fell with a thud. The gang members looked from their fallen Leader to Jake who was running towards them.

"Run away!" They all yelled, dropping the cleaning supplies and getting up to run. Two of them slipped on the now wet sidewalk, grabbing at their fellow members for support. Pierce and Spike managed to scurry past the pumps, only to be hit by Jake who had flung his body horizontally through the air.

The store clerk watched as Jake quickly dispatched the five gang members, yelling at them the entire time. "I think now's the time to call the authorities..." He muttered, picking up the phone behind the register. "At least, for their safety."

About twenty minutes later, Jake and the clerk watched as the three police patty wagons drove off with the gang members in handcuffs.

"I should have just beat them up from the start..." Jake sighed. "I would have still gotten their money," he looked down at his duel disk which was now in two halves. "And this would still be intact."

"You _did_ hit all of them with it..." The clerk quieted down when Jake shot him a look. "N-never mind. The point is you're fine and they're in custody." With a smile he added; "And your bill is covered. Oh, and that gang will probably disband since their leader is facing jail time. That'll help business."

"Everybody's happy..." Jake stared at the broken white and blue duel disk. He looked back at the store clerk who held a large, unmarked cardboard box. "What's that?"

"The item that was in storage." He noticed the blank expression on Jake's face. "You know, the one you came here to pick up?"

"Oh." Jake took the box. "I nearly forgot all about that." Jake then remembered something else. "How long did you say this was here for?"

"Ten years." The clerk spoke with clear marvel in his voice. "It wasn't until last week that I get the message someone would be coming to pick it up."

"You said you were here when this was dropped off?" Jake continued after the clerk nodded. "Can you tell me who dropped it off?"

"He didn't give a name," The clerk placed a hand to his chin. "And, to be honest, I can't remember that day clearly since I had an accident a while back in the garage," he pointed to the garage annex beyond a heavy metal door with two windows on each side. "I hit my head on a car that was suspended by a hydraulic carjack."

Jake flinched at the word carjack, his eyes on his shattered duel disk.

"But I do remember that he was tall, maybe your height, and he had long hair that was...a color..."

"Hair that was a color?" Jake repeated. "Like what, white?" Jake offered hopefully.

"Now that you mention it..." The clerk began, sounding like he was remembering something. "I think it was… I'm sorry I can't remember." The clerk sighed and gave a shrug. "Even if I were to guess, I can't be a hundred percent sure, to tell the truth."

"It's all right," Jake was clearly depressed. "Well, I'll be going now."

"W-wait!" The clerk held out his hand as Jake began to turn away.

"What is it? The bill's been paid."

"No, it's not that..." The clerk pointed to the box. "I've been looking at that box for ten years, watching it gather dust. I could never open it myself because of company policy, but now that you've picked it up..."

"You're curious to know what's inside."

"Curious doesn't even begin to describe it."

Jake gave the clerk a slow nod. "Alright. I won't deny you this." Jake then remembered just who he was, and who he was associated with. Not to mention who he considered his enemies. "Just, let me take a look at it first, in case it's something sensitive."

The clerk begrudgingly agreed to Jake's terms, honoring his company's privacy policy. Jake retrieved a Swiss army knife from one of his many pockets and clicked out the knife attachment. He cut through the tape on the cardboard box and put it down on the counter. "Here we go..." He lifted the flap and pushed aside some packing peanuts. He let out a very loud gasp and stepped back from the box.

"Is it a bomb?!" The clerk asked. "Is it a million bucks?" He then swiftly added. "If it is a million bucks, don't forget there's a tip jar on your left."

Jake didn't pay the man's words any attention. He stuck his hands into the box, his eyes still wide, and he pulled out its contents. He turned around to show the clerk, who let out a whistle.

"Well I'll be damned..." The clerk watched as Jake strapped the item to his left arm. "It's a duel disk."

"Not just any duel disk..." Jake marveled at the duel disk; it was mainly green with black trim around the outside, card slots, and completely black on the deck and graveyard section. The life point indicator was surrounded with spiked decal, resembling a sun. The card zone shape was reminiscent of a crescent moon. "It's the duel disk that I've been making blueprints of for the past few months..."

"You make duel disks?" The clerk asked.

"I've been waiting to get back home so that I could start making it..." Jake continued, unaware of the clerk. "How...how can this be?" Jake then inspected it closer; just beneath his wrist, he noticed that the base of the duel disk was much larger than on any other duel disk he'd even seen, standard or otherwise.

"What's this?" Jake placed a finger to the base, and felt a small groove. "A keyhole of some sort?" He followed the shape of the etching and a look of realization dawned on his face. "It's shaped like…" He shook the duel disk. It sounded as though there were something _inside_ of the duel disk itself. "A mystery within a mystery..." Jake murmured. He then got an idea and walked out of the front door. The clerk hurried after him, although Jake didn't seem to notice.

Jake stopped in front of Equinox.

"Equinox," the duel runner beeped in response to Jake's voice. "Engage duel disk connection." With a second beep, the controls for Equinox split apart and a stand for a duel disk popped up. Jake unstrapped the duel disk from his arm and placed it on the stand.

"Synchronize new duel disk?" Equinox asked.

"Synchronize?" Jake repeated quietly. "Troubleshoot; didn't I program you to automatically relay information with standard duel disks so that I could jump into a duel with no issues?"

"Correct." Equinox replied.

"Then why are you asking for synchronization confirmation?"

"Because this is not a standard duel disk." Equinox answered autonomously.

"No duh..." Jake sighed. "Elaborate, Equinox."

"The dimensions of this duel disk are very different than that of a standard issue duel disk. To be precise, this duel disk seems to have had been custom made to fit my interior perfectly." After a moment of silence, Equinox asked in an arguably curious tone. "Query; is this a completed prototype of the duel disk you wanted to create upon reaching our destination?"

"No, it's not." Jake spoke seriously. "This duel disk turned out to be the package we were picking up from our first way point."

"So you're going somewhere?" Jake looked over his shoulder at the clerk. "What, forgot I was here?" Jake frowned at the clerk; he didn't need anyone overhearing details that even he didn't know about.

"Thanks for everything, and sorry about the commotion I caused."

"You're taking off?" The clerk frowned himself.

"Yeah. Got more drifting to do." Jake mounted Equinox and put on his helmet.

"Well then, take care." The clerk added after a few moments "If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods, feel free to pop in and say hi."

"Will do." Jake gave the clerk a nod as he revved his engine.

"I'll make you a ham and cheese, on the house."

"That sounds good." Jake offered with a smile as he pulled out of the gas station.

"And I'll refill your ride, too! But that's not on the house. That fuel you're burning isn't exactly cheap!"

Jake gave the clerk a wave and peeled off into the setting sun.

"Engage auto-pilot."

"Auto pilot engaged." Equinox informed as Jake took his hands off the controls. He stared down at the duel disk he had just received. "This is all too convenient. I don't trust this…"

"Shall I commence a level five security lock-down before commencing a data media scan?"

"Data media? Equinox, you mean to tell me that this duel disk not only fits both of us, and has something inside of it, but it also has something _recorded_ on it?" Jake glanced down at the screen that beeped.

"Initial scans reveal several multimedia files, some are even encrypted."

"Alright." Jake's voice was stern. "A level five security scan it is. If things go really bad, be prepared to eject that sucker in a second."

"Understood. Level five security scan commencing... buffering firewall...protecting high priority data...hiding waypoints and other temporary files... Interesting Intel discovered."

"Talk to me." Jake kept his eyes on the low traffic road.

"There is a message that was designed to play during this scan."

"That is interesting."

"There's more." Equinox let out a succession of beeping sounds. "According to the message and the encryption, it was designed to play during a level five security scan."

Jake's eyes shot down to the screen. "We're not even halfway through the scan, yet the duel disk not only knows that it's being scanned, but it also knows the program being used?"

"Warning!" Equinox's voice sounded alarmed and began to emit a wailing siren sound. "External media is overriding security!"

"Override? Equinox, stop the scan!"

"Attempting...unsuccessful."

"What do you mean unsuccessful? Try again, and don't stop until it is successful!"

"Second attempt...third attempt...All security features have been disabled." Equinox's voice was no longer alarmed.

Jake applied the emergency breaks as he approached the curb. "What?!"

"Firewalls disabled. Encryptions have been broken. Passwords and personal files are being accessed."

Jake grabbed the duel disk and tried to pull it free. "Disengage the duel disk!"

"Synchronizing duel disk to internal hardware and software."

"That is NOT what I told you to do!" Jake grunted as he continued pulling at the duel disk.

"Synchronizing duel disk with wireless media Business cellphone and wireless media Leisure cellphone."

"Oh, come on!" Jake jumped off of Equinox and lifted his fist over his head. He then brought his fist down on the duel disk, but it did not budge.

"Synchronizing duel disk to helmet."

Jake grabbed the helmet on his head and began to pull.

"Beginning automatic voice playback."

The word 'Playing' popped on the inside of the visor and Jake was greeted by a strange voice.

"Relax, Jake." Jake stopped pulling on the helmet. "If I'm correct, you probably didn't read the message on the duel disk yet. This synchronization process is not a hack. Well, technically, it is, but it's not a _bad_ hack. It's more like a software and firmware update."

"Synchronization process complete." Equinox updated Jake. "Security features rebooting."

"Screw that," Jake growled. "Scan this for any clues as to its origin. I'll track down who did this to you and I'll-"

"I'll say it again, Jake. Relax." Only now did Jake realize that the voice was being masked by voice changing technology. "All of your files are safe. In fact, you'll find a few new files that just might help you in times to come. Especially regarding one gentlemen with white hair..."

Jake felt his body go numb; how did this person know about that?

"Now that I've gotten your attention, go ahead and search the new files on Equinox. Also check the way-points you set yesterday. You'll find that you have a few new stops to make. Recording end."

With a beep, the recording ended.

"Shall I perform a complete systems check?" Equinox asked. Jake stood there for a moment, silent as his heart rate slowed down. "Jake?" Equinox asked again.

"Y-yeah." Jake removed his helmet and wiped the sweat form his brow. "Also, playback that recording to yourself and see if you can decipher that voice. Once we know everything is still in place, check the way-points and scan for new files like that voice said."

Jake sat down on the sidewalk for the hour that the process took.

"What did you find, Equinox?" Jake sounded exhausted and defeated.

"All original files are intact and nothing has been accessed – aside from granting the duel disk clearance to remote functionality."

Jake, who was running his fingers through his long, fine hair, looked up. "Come again?"

"The duel disk is completely compatible with my firmware and runs on the same channel as all other wireless communications performed by me. It is even possible for the duel disk to reverse its wireless capabilities and call me to its current location – so long as that distance is within a still being calculated distance – presumably four hundred yards."

"So...that duel disk was made specifically for you?"

"Clarification: Made specifically for us."

"For us?" Jake was now lost.

"Shall I explain?"

"Please do." Jake almost whined.

"Upon synchronization, the dimensions and weight of the duel disk was confirmed to be mathematically compatible with your own height and weight."

"Is there anything else?" Jake asked.

"One of the programs downloaded from the duel disk was an update on the personality program you installed not too long ago. This features more realistic emotion impersonation, as well as updated general vocabulary and information on Duel Monsters cards that was previously absent from my internal database."

"A software and firmware update..." Jake recalled what the voice had said. He then stood up and brushed himself off. "Okay, we're off!"

"To?" Equinox asked, sounding confused.

"Man, I'm going to need to get used to that..." Jake shuddered and put his helmet back on. He noticed he had several new features on his head-up display. "I can actually _see_ the way-point." Jake shook his head; even if it wasn't a _bad_ hack, it was still a hack. "We're heading to our new first destination. Where is it, and how far?"

"It's in Neo Copan City, in the opposite direction from our original destination."

"Well, seeing as how whoever it was that left us the duel disk was nice enough to upgrade you -"

"Financial update." Equinox interrupted Jake. "Money has just been transferred to both your business and leisure bank accounts."

"Money? Display information on the helmet." Jake watched the loading bar fill up quickly. His mouth dropped as he counted the amount of zeros between the two accounts. "Where did this come from?"

"An unknown sender. Traces to the bank account shows that the account was terminated shortly before the transfer was completed."

"You don't say..." Jake spoke lowly. "Think it was from our Secret Santa?"

"Is that how we'll address this mysterious benefactor that provided you with a custom duel disk and a small fortune?"

"Yes, yes it is." Jake revved Equinox's engine.

"Then it is very likely that this money is from our...Secret Santa."

"What, you don't like the phrase?"

Equinox replied: "Confirmation: Engage autopilot to the next way-point?"

"Since when do you ignore my questions?" Jake sensed he would not get an answer and sighed. "Fine, but you've still yet to tell me where we're going."

"It's called the Champion's Bar." Equinox researched the address. "And we're supposed to meet someone there."

"The Champion's Bar? That's an odd name. And what do you mean we're supposed to 'meet someone there'?"

"According to the files, we will meet someone of interest upon our arrival."

"The files know someone is there?"

"Clarification: The files know that someone _will be_ there."

"First you're hacked, and now you can tell the future?" Jake scoffed. "Alright, let's ride, Equinox." Equinox's engine rolled over as Jake leaned back in the seat. "Wake me up when we get there. And put the duel disk down so that I can rest my feet."

"Understood, Jake." Equinox retracted the duel disk and the controls closed over it. The duel runner pulled away from the curb and drove into a tunnel. Above the tunnel, a green sign with white text read:

Neo Copan City: 100 miles ahead

* * *

 _This duel featured custom cards made by authors of Fanfiction who submitted characters for this story. Those cards, along with their characters, are their sole property. Should you like to use any of the following cards, or any other custom cards featured in this work, you must obtain their consent and give them proper credit afterward._

 **Ataguchu**

[EARTH Pyro/Effect] LV 1 ATK: 900 DEF: 0

Once per turn: Declare one card type (Monster, Spell or Trap). Reveal the top card of your Deck. If the revealed card is the type you declared, add it to your hand. If it is not, send the card to the Graveyard and change this monster's Position.

Created by Xen Kenshin. Used by Jake – Character Created by Xen Kenshin.

 **Inca Summoning Ritual** [Normal Spell]

This card can only be activated during your Main Phase 1. You cannot activate/chain another Spell/Trap Card during the turn you activate this card. Special Summon one 'Fire Ant Ascator', 'Supay' or 'Infant Kon' along with one monster with 1000 or less attack from your Graveyard. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase this turn.

Created by Xen Kenshin. Used by Jake – Character Created by Xen Kenshin

 **Battlefield Torch Pass** [Trap Card]

If a monster you controlled had an effect trigger during battle, and it is destroyed in the same battle: Special Summon one monster of the same type and with a lower level from your Graveyard.

Created by Xen Kenshin. Used by Jake – Character Created by Xen Kenshin


	3. Chapter 3

**The Celestia vs. The World – Revised**!

Ambition That Attracts Darkness

Opening Arc

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Reunited**

The wind was gentle and the sun light was warm. A few seagulls cawed overhead, no doubt using the morning light to search for a bit of breakfast. The ocean was a bright green-blue and shimmered in the sun as two young girls ran across the sand, laughing happily and calling out to the dark figure standing on the patio of the private beach house.

The figure was male; a young, fairly tanned but still Caucasian adult standing at five feet and eleven inches and looked to weigh in around one hundred eighty pounds. His hair was snowy white and long; the back and majority of which was tied into a French braid reaching just above his waist. The front of his hair he had trimmed himself, still having length but barely below his eyebrows. His bangs were like razors, the edges unevenly falling across his hypnotic emerald eyes.

He took constant care of his body from a young age, ensuring that he was well toned and fit for combat in his lifetime. This was evident beyond his particular taste of attire, heavy clothing, entirely ignoring weather conditions and even forsaking his own comfort. He wore combat boots; military pants that were slim and had many pockets, a sleeveless shirt, and then a thin knee-length jacket that he wore zipper open and collar up. His clothing was onyx in color, excluding the one inch margin of white outlining on his coat. His lips formed a rare smile as the two young girls slowed down upon reaching the patio, calling his name in eagerness.

"Recuk! Recuk!"

The first girl, obviously young and likely very active judging by her track star-like running, wore a pink skirt with black stockings and a black skull shirt. Like the male, she had emerald green eyes but her hair was raven black, and unkempt and wild, akin to the rock star look. "Kiya," she called to the girl who was slightly behind her. "Keep up!"

"I am, Eryn!" The second girl, Kiya, was almost indistinguishable from the first, if not for their different hairstyles. Her raven black hair was combed and brushed towards the back of her head, although the ends curled. Her emerald eyes were fixed on the male as she ran towards him. Similar to the attire of Eryn, she also wore a shirt and skirt combo, but her shirt was a plain pink and her black skirt was frilled with pink stockings.

"Hello, you two." Recuk watched as they stared up at him incredulously, catching their breaths with expressions of shock and awe on their faces. After a few seconds he added with a hint of a frown "Have I been away for so long, you've forgotten your older brother?"

The girls rushed up the stairs, fighting one another the entire time for the right to get to Recuk first. In the end, both sisters ended up in Recuk's arms as the family enjoyed their reunion.

"We didn't think you'd come here!" Eryn exclaimed first, voicing her surprise..

"We thought since you're returning from your victory in Greenland, you'd be busy!" Kiya elaborated, but was happy their assumptions were incorrect.

Recuk's smile faded as he spoke. "You thought I'd come back to Neo Copan City and ignore my two favorite people in the world?"

The girls wore somber expressions for just a second. Recuk used his hands to pinch their cheeks. They both complained for a moment until Recuk released them. "You two are much more important to me than bragging about being the new International Duel Monsters Champion."

Their eyes lit up at this new information. "You won?!" Kiya asked in disbelief. Recuk gave her a nod, but Eryn only scoffed.

"It's Recuk," Eryn crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Of course he won." Her tone was almost cynic, as though she were disgusted to hear her sister say Recuk had a chance of losing.

"But...she's the International Champ, Eryn," Kiya explained, looking to her sister. "And his last opponent, Isis, had never lost a single duel in her _life._ "

"Until now!" Eryn exclaimed, pointing back at Recuk who was standing normally. "Recuk whooped her butt and-"

"Hey," Recuk interjected, gaining their attention. "The news hasn't been made public yet, so I'll need you two to keep this quiet, okay?" The sisters noticed the expression on their older brother's face and quickly grew somber. "Besides," Recuk began, trying to lighten the mood. "It wasn't an easy duel. I can see why she'd never lost a duel in her life." His voice grew reminiscent as he recalled the recent events that felt almost years old. "I couldn't make a single mistake from the very beginning of the duel. If I did, she would have crushed me completely."

"Sorry." They muttered an apology at roughly the same time. Eryn then spoke up. "Still, I never got why you aren't proud of being so strong, Recuk."

Kiya then piped up. "Yeah, I mean, you're the International Champion now! No one can deny your strength."

Recuk shook his head. "Maybe you'll get it when you're older, but strength isn't everything in life. You need something more..." Recuk trailed off for but a second before he patted both of their heads. "A purpose to live for. And if you only live to be strong..." Recuk heard footsteps behind him in the interior of the beach house. "What will you live for when someone stronger than you comes along?"

Recuk turned around to come chest to face with a rather short woman with a mane of shockingly bright crimson hair, tied into pigtails with a bow on each. Her eyes were a shimmering azure tint, reminiscent of the ocean. She wore Gothic clothing; heavy, black and embroidered in studs and chains from her denim jacket down to the combat boots. She stared at Recuk for a moment, her eyes looking him up and down, and the words she wanted to say not forming in her mind nor on her tongue. Recuk sensed that they could have stood like that for the remainder of their time on the planet, so he spoke up first.

"Hello, Lilith." Recuk greeted the woman with a small smile, not very different from the one he gave his sisters. The woman jolted at this voice; not in surprise, but in recognition.

"Recuk." She spoke his name rather quietly. Recuk's eyebrow rose at her uncharacteristic behavior. He looked between his sisters, who moved to either of his sides, with a mock expression of concern on his face.

"Is...is that really Lilith?" His question and tone gained giggles from the two girls, but the woman did not seem amused. She walked towards Recuk, staring him in the face for a moment. Recuk stared right back at her, noticing his sisters leave his side. His eyes widened as he realized what was coming. "Lilith, let's talk-"

Recuk closed his eyes and braced himself, but the punch to his forehead still stung a bit. He could have easily avoided the attack from the woman of shorter stature, but Recuk believed it wise to pick your battles, and take smaller loses.

"You don't call," Lilith's voice was fierce. "You don't write. You don't even send that goofball agent of yours back to Neo Copan every once in a while to give us an update?" Recuk was now rubbing his head as he stood silent, listening to Lilith's lecture. "Something could have happened either to you or to us, and neither side would have known."

Recuk almost wasn't able to brace himself for a second strike to his head. "The same spot...?" He berated under his breath, rubbing the spot once more.

"And worst of all..." Lilith now bore a grin. "You came back a day early and ruined your welcome back party." She pointed over her shoulder and at the incomplete decorations in the living room and kitchen. "What do you have to say for yourself, mister?"

Recuk went into his pocket and retrieved three tickets. "Sorry?" Lilith snatched the tickets from Recuk and eyed them over. Eryn and Kiya were now at Lilith's side, trying to get a look at the tickets as well.

"Recuk..." Lilith's voice was shocked. "These are front row seats for...a tournament one month from now, at the Iniquity Dome." Lilith looked from the tickets to Recuk. "Does this mean we…?"

Recuk nodded. "My agent suggested that I stop stowing you three away so much and bring you to that tournament." Recuk watched the expressions on his sisters faces grow into excitement. "Maybe...she's right about that."

"We get to see you win a tournament?!" Kiya cheered!

"And in person, for once, instead of watching it at this crappy place?!" Eryn sounded ecstatic.

"Hey!" Recuk scolded. "Watch your mouth." He then looked around at the beach. "You two aren't happy with this location?"

The sisters looked up to Lilith with subdued expressions. Lilith nudged them, keeping silent. "It-it's not that we don't like it here..." Eryn began.

"We'd just..." Kiya stammered. "We'd just like it better if you were with us more often."

Recuk sighed heavily; he had figured that's what they had meant. "Listen..." Recuk crouched low and drew his sisters near. "The two of you know that I love you, right?" His sisters nodded, but their expressions did not change. "And that no matter what I do, or where I go, I'm always thinking of you both?" They nodded, and Recuk looked up to Lilith. "And you, too, Lilith." The red head looked surprised as Recuk mentioned her name.

"I owe you a lot, looking after these two must be a hassle." Recuk looked to Eryn "Although _someone_ seems to have taken after you quite a bit, style and all." Eryn smiled sheepishly.

"It's nothing, Recuk." Lilith objected, sounding a bit disappointed. "These brats of yours aren't nearly as bad as you'd think." She laughed when Eryn and Kiya complained about being called brats. "Oh, quiet, you know I'm just teasing you two."

"Still..." Recuk's tone was pensive. "I don't know how I'd manage without you, Lilith. Thank you." Recuk and Lilith were silent for a moment. Recuk looked to his sisters and continued. "You both know that since I'm...a bit famous, that I feel much more comfortable with you two out of the spotlight." Before they could respond, Recuk also said this to his sisters: "And, being involved with the Riders puts me in danger – danger that I don't want to extend to you both."

The hush that fell over the patio was broken only by the ocean waves hitting the sandy shore.

"Y-yeah," Kiya spoke first. "And we're here because _they_ " She stressed the word, understanding the level of secrecy of the subject. "Found this spot for you to hide us."

Recuk flinched at the word choice. "I'm not hiding you two..." Recuk felt a twinge of guilt as he tried to defuse the situation. "You both go to school and do a ton of fun things..."

"But we have to use Lilith's last name, instead of ours!" Eryn almost shouted. "Because if we used the last name Revajik, everyone would know who we are! Face it, Recuk, you're hiding us!"

Recuk pressed his lips together and stood up. "Maybe I am..." He looked to Lilith before turning around to face the ocean. "And maybe I am being bit selfish, holding you three up in safe houses all around Neo Copan city with little concern for your own wishes but..." Recuk gripped the wooden banister tightly and spoke in a defeated tone. "That's all I can do for now."

Eryn, Kiya and Lilith all sensed the weight on Recuk's shoulders but had no idea of its immensity. "All I can do is use tournament money to give you what you need, and Rider resources to keep you safe. But once this stupid war is over...we can all settle down and be a family again."

"War?" Eryn asked. "What war?" She looked between Recuk and Lilith. "Are we fighting someone?"

Recuk cursed himself for letting his thoughts get the better of him. "It's nothing."

"You mean the rumors that surround Neo Copan City?" Kiya asked, also getting interested.

"You've heard about them?" Recuk asked, turning back to face them.

Kiya nodded. "There's a covert war going on between three factions that are active all over the world, but share roots right here in Neo Copan City."

"Oh yeah," Eryn commented. "One of them is a terrorist organization, right? They hijack television shows and perform acts of terrorism, announcing that they're going to take over Neo Copan City, one district at a time, then snuff out the other two factions."

"The Black Tempest..." Recuk whispered forebodingly. "Secret faction or not, their motives are clearly violent and they're well known for causing riots and disturbances in this, and many other cities."

"Then there's the rumored Iniquity Force." Kiya continued. "They're supposed to be some hush-hush group of super solders manufactured by Eagle D. Iniquity and used to help further his conquest."

Eryn openly expressed her disdain. "The guy ended up controlling most of Neo Copan seemingly overnight! Not to mention he came out of almost nowhere! He has to have some sort of super power if he can take over so many corporations in the span of a few months."

Recuk looked at his sisters with a wary expression and approached them. "You two seem to have done a lot of research." He looked to Lilith. "I wonder if you had help..."

Lilith shrugged. "They kept asking questions, ever since you told them we're members of the Riders of Twilight. I caught them watching more and more videos and documentaries of Neo Copan's past, trying to figure out clues that the Riders may have missed." While Lilith explained this, she didn't sound concerned. If anything, she sounded proud of their actions.

"'We're' members of the Riders of Twilight?" Recuk repeated, giving Lilith a stern look.

"I am." Recuk's look became a glare at the certain tone of voice Lilith used. "Well, loosely by association to you, anyway..." Lilith huffed, not one to dwell on technicalities. Recuk narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening. "Oh, come on, give me that much!" Recuk's expression did not relent as his eyes shifted towards his sister.

"The more they know, the more they're at risk..." Recuk remained stoic but the three could sense he was fuming. "And the more you try to claim membership, Lilith, the more danger you put yourself in."

"They're already at risk," Lilith countered in a matter of fact tone. "The more they know now, the better they can protect themselves." After a beat, Lilith added. "And would you rather I tell them, or they go off and try to find answers on their own?"

Recuk let out a very audible groan. "You're right..." Recuk rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It was...presumptuous of me to think that they wouldn't ask questions sooner or later." Recuk looked at his sisters, turning his back to Lilith. "But, understand that my status as a Rider _does not_ extend to you two." He looked over his shoulder at Lilith, giving her a meaningful look. Lilith rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in response. The twin sisters noticed this, but had no idea what it meant. "So, while I will answer a question or two, if anything comes up that I feel that you two don't need to know-"

"We know, you won't tell us." Eryn interjected.

"And I know Lilith will respect my decision." He spoke loudly intentionally, his eyes never leaving his sisters. Behind him Lilith let out a low grumble that sounded like confirmation.

"But if anything were to happen and we get separated, we can go to one of the places you showed us and the Riders will help us." Kiya added.

Recuk looked between them. "That's right. And if you reach any of those places, and they're not occupied by anyone, you can stay there. But if there's anyone who seems suspicious, you get away as quickly and as quietly as possible and move onto another location. Find a safe house and dial the number you both memorized and I'll come and get you. Understand?"

Recuk waited until each of his sisters repeated his instructions before relaxing. Satisfied, he gave each of them a hug and looked back towards the living room. "So, this welcome home party...Is there cake?"

* * *

The morning now mid-evening, Recuk let out a yawn as he sat on the sofa in the living room, mindlessly watching television as his sisters played Duel Monsters in the kitchen. He could hear them announcing their moves and strategies, and a small smile crept onto his face.

"Almost makes you want to go in there and join in, doesn't it?" Recuk was accustom to Lilith's seemingly supernatural ability to creep up on him undetected, but that didn't stop his heart from picking up its pace a bit.

"Yeah," he spoke casually. "Especially since Eryn is using my old deck." Lilith let out a laugh and jumped over the sofa. She landed beside Recuk and changed the channel on the television. "I was watching that." Recuk informed her.

"And now you're not." Lilith shot Recuk a grin. He huffed, but pushed it no further. "Oh, you mean your old Fusion deck?" Lilith let out a nostalgic sigh. "I remember that. Everyone feared us back at the orphanage since our decks were so strong."

Recuk lifted an eyebrow at Lilith's comment. "I don't recall you being too afraid to challenge me. As a matter of fact, you did just that. Everyday."

Lilith laughed nostalgically. "Why would I have been afraid of someone who apologized for being hit by a football _I_ threw?" Before Recuk could respond Lilith quickly added. "Besides, once you got your hands on that 'Fabled' deck, no one was able to hold a candle to you." Recuk visibly frowned at her statement. Lilith gave an exaggerated sigh. "You're weird, you know that, Recuk?"

"You've been telling me that for years now," Recuk replied calmly. "And coming from someone who's weird herself, I'd say -" Recuk lifted his hand and casually caught Lilith's punch. "You know a thing or two about weirdness."

Lilith reclaimed her fist and shot Recuk a grin. "Guilty as charged," She then frowned and asked "Still, what is it with you and not being proud of the fact that you've just become the _International_ champion of Duel Monsters?" Lilith's voice rose an octave. "I mean, you _do_ understand that the only person who is above you at this point is Yugi Motou -" Lilith cut herself off, her grin returning.

"What?" Recuk didn't like the look in Lilith's eye. That look meant that she was most likely thinking devious thoughts.

"Oh, I get it now." Lilith sounded satisfied with herself and turned away from Recuk. She casually threw her feet up on the coffee table and changed the channel on the TV again.

Recuk sat up and pushed Lilith's feet off of the coffee table. "You get what?" He grimaced when Lilith put her feet back up. "That's just rude, Lilith."

"So am I." Lilith chuckled at her own cleverness. "I get why you're not satisfied with be the International Champ."

"Why would that be?" Recuk lifted Lilith's feet and placed a pillow beneath them. "At least show a _bit_ of decency."

"Because," Lilith intentionally kicked the pillow to the floor. "You hate the fact that you're only second best in the world." Lilith turned her head to Recuk. "You just want to hurry up and beat Yugi Mouto and become number one in the world."

Recuk gazed at the fallen pillow. "You just love getting under my skin, don't you?" He huffed at Lilith's smile.

"Yup." She moved her feet and picked up the pillow. "And you'd probably be even _more_ miserable if you beat Yugi Motou and became number one."

Recuk blinked at her. "Do I really come off as miserable?" He placed a hand to his chin when Lilith nodded. "I'm not miserable-" His eyes shot to Lilith who gave him a very grim look.

"What?" He asked cautiously.

"You _are._ " She spoke factually.

"What-"

"Look at you; you're home for the first time in months and what do you do? Ignore your sisters."

"That's not true." Recuk shot back.

"Get lost in that secluded brain of yours, pretending to watch TV," Lilith did not relent.

"Now you're just-"

"And keep yourself, and those you care about, at arm's length from the world." Lilith finished, hardly even noticing Recuk's attempts to butt in.

"…" Recuk stared at Lilith, who stared back at him brazenly. As much as Recuk hated to admit it, even though Lilith wasn't _right,_ she did have a point. With a sigh of defeat, Recuk began to speak. "How about tomorrow I take us all out to eat?"

Lilith slowly turned herself to face Recuk. "You'd do that?" She didn't believe Recuk when he nodded. "You'd face paparazzi and even worse, fans, sighting you and your sisters, just to prove me wrong?"

"It's not about proving you wrong," Neither he nor Lilith believed his words. "It's about spending time with those I care about." He spoke with clarity. Lilith's burning eyes looked Recuk up and down for a moment. "What?" He asked for the umpteenth time.

"You had better pick a place with good steak." Lilith shot before turning her attention to the TV again. "And nowhere fancy."

"I know how much you hate dressing up." Recuk goaded with a hint of humor in his voice, earning a glare from Lilith. " _Anything_ to avoid being lady-like." His sarcasm was rewarded with Lilith putting her feet up on the coffee table once more and sticking her tongue out at him. He glanced from her feet to her adamant expression and knew that pushing any further would be useless.

"I'll find something." Recuk pulled out his smart phone and unlocked it to search for – the screen illuminated and the phone began to vibrate. He looked at the name on the screen and sighed. Lilith adjusted herself so that she could see the name as well, ignoring Recuk's narrowed eyes. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Lilith spoke with a smirk, returning to her reclined position. "Tell your goofball agent I said what's up." Recuk visibly frowned at Lilith's intentional neglect of his personal space.

Recuk exhaled through his nostrils to vent his displeasure, earning a grin from Lilith, and stood up from the sofa. He tapped his phone than held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Meet me at this address, baby," Recuk flinched at the word 'baby'. His agent said it in every other sentence, mimicking the corny Broadway talent agents from those old American movies, even though Recuk had requested she stopped doing that years ago. "We're gonna have a drink to celebrate your new found success!"

"I don't drink." Recuk stated bluntly. "I'm neither of legal age, nor a fan of impaired senses and judgment."

"Then _I'll_ have a drink for both of us, baby!" His agent clearly didn't need more alcohol in her system. "Oh, and we've got to talk business. Something about a peacock igloo…?"

Recuk groaned at his agent's drunken ditzy tendencies. "Do you mean the Eagle Dome?"

"Yeah, that!" His agent chuckled. "I knew it was a bird, half-sphere…thing. Hey, hands off the shot glass, baby!" With an abrupt click, the line was dead.

"That's why I don't drink…" Recuk grumbled. He looked back to find his sisters staring up at him. "Oh," he already knew what they were going to say, judging by the almost teary eyed looks on their faces. "I'm coming right back."

"You JUST got here." Eryn quipped first.

"I'm coming back tonight." Recuk assured them.

"Are you really?" Kiya asked, her skepticism wasn't unwarranted.

"Yes." Before they could ask, he added. "I promise."

His sister looked at each other. Recuk bent down and pulled them both into a hug. "I'll be back. Watch Lilith for me, okay?"

"Hey!" Lilith complained from the living room.

"She's the immature one." Recuk chuckled.

"Butt face…" Lilith made sure her insult was heard. "Be back home before midnight."

"I will," Recuk then remembered who he was, and who he was going to meet. "Make that 6am. I may have to find my 'goofball agent' a hotel room." Recuk used Lilith's term to express his apathy.

"So the heifer's getting plastered again?" Lilith asked casually as she flickered through channels and scratching her stomach.

"Language!" Recuk scolded Lilith, his eyes on his sisters who acted as though they heard nothing.

"Have fun being her bodyguard, Recuk, baby!" Lilith sang sweetly, mocking his agent's speaking habits.

* * *

Recuk pulled his Duel Runner up to the address given to him by his agent. His duel runner was modified for maximum speed and handling - streamlined and shaped like a tear-drop lying on a horizontal surface, and its wheels were perfectly aligned for maximum maneuverability. There were two wings swept forward just above the rear tire to allow extra maneuverability at the cost of an insignificant amount of acceleration. His duel runner was most dark as night, with a red line cutting down the middle from front to back

The address had lead him to a bar. as he assumed from her implication of drinking, but… "The Champion's Bar." He sighed, reading the neon text above the bar. Not only were the colors gaudy, but its structural design was a failed attempt at being new and innovative. With the odd metal beams curved at mismatched angles, and the material made to reflect the lights of the sign, the entire bar looked like an alien home plastered against the expressway backdrop.

"What a gaudy looking place." Recuk spoke with a tint of distaste in his tone. "People definitely don't come here to admire the architecture…" Recuk killed the engine of his duel runner, locking it down in the parking lot across the street, and walked towards the bar. He noticed a large bouncer standing outside of the door to the entrance staring him down. Recuk let out a huff; it seemed no matter where he went, there was always at least one person who –

"No entry." The bouncer called out to Recuk who was no more than twenty feet away.

Who had to make things difficult.

"I'm only here to pick someone up." Recuk spoke truthfully. "If you would be so kind as to ask one of the staff to retrieve my friend-"

"I'm not leaving this spot." The bouncer spoke sternly. "And you're underage. Get moving, kid."

Recuk let out a sigh. He looked at the bouncer, who returned Recuk's look with an iron glare, then turned around and walked away. Recuk pulled out his cellphone and called his agent via speed dial. She picked up on the last ring.

"Baby!" Her voice was a clear indicator of how inebriated she was. "Where are you?"

Recuk felt a small fragment of himself die inside as he responded to 'baby'. "I am outside the Champion's Bar. Please come outside so that I can take you home."

"What? Take me home?" His agent let out her trademark annoying laugh that sounded like a snake's rattler. "This party is about to hit full swing once the guest of honor arrives."

Recuk felt his stomach sink down to his feet. "Don't tell me…"

"That's right, baby! So, get your sexy tush in here and greet your fans! Tell that stuffy ol' bouncer that you're partying with Agnes and he'll let you in!"

"No." Recuk spoke adamantly. "I refuse to take part in your debauchery-"

"There's an entire _aquarium_ in the table we've booked! I'm sipping drinks and watching sharks swim two feet away from my face!"

"That's not hardly enough to get me to join you in your… festivities."

"There's darts, and those little crab cakes you love so much." She cooed into the phone as the music in the background began to start up. "Oh, I love this song! Get in here and dance with me, baby!"

Recuk was silent for but a few moments after his agent hung up. He felt his stomach let out a low ripple, telling him that his body required sustenance. He let out a low groan and walked back towards the bouncer.

"You again?" He scoffed looking down at Recuk.

"I'm partying…" He forced himself to look into the bouncer's eyes. "With Agnes."

The bouncer looked Recuk up and down, his eyes full of disbelief… and possibly scorn. "Draped in black, white hair… brooding voice. Yeah, she said you'd be coming." He pulled the velvet roping from the doorway and gestured Recuk inside. "No drinking for you though."

"I didn't plan to." Recuk replied as he stepped past the rope. It wasn't until he was past the bouncer, did the description Agnes gave the bouncer fully set in. "Brooding tone?" The door to the bar opened automatically, and Recuk felt his body move. Startled, he looked down to find a sort of conveyer belt pulling him into the bar. Instantly, Recuk was met with music so loud and full of bass, his head throbbed and bright, flashing neon and fluorescent lights that caused his retinas to cry out in pain. There was an array of sounds people of this atmosphere made that Recuk could not discern, and the conveyer belt's movements threw his sense of gravity off balance.

It was as though he had stepped past the gates dividing the real world and his own personal Hell.

The icing on the top, however, was when even among the myriad of noises, he could make out the rattlesnake laugh of his agent. Seconds after, he felt hands placing something on his face. He reeled back at the sudden proximity, only to be taken forward again because of the conveyer belt.

"Chill, baby!" He heard her voice shouting in his ear, her breath capable of setting off breathalyzers from fifteen yards away. "It's just a mask to help conceal your identity from all these avid fans." He felt her hand go around his arm and drag him off the conveyer belt. He kept up with her rather teeterish steps and quick pace with ease. Recuk heard a door open, and felt the climate of the room change. He was thrust into the center of the room and heard the door close behind him.

The sound of the music dulled.

The blinding lights were mere gleams along the walls.

Recuk opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. This room had exposed soundproofing on the walls, which explained the quiet. The door behind him was draped with thick, black curtains, allowing for light to enter only through the cracks and crevices. Recuk sniffed; there was a different scent as well. The main section of the bar smelled like a mass of different colognes and perfumes, mixed with strong alcohol and a touch of body odor. This room had the refined smell of strong, longer brewed alcoholic beverages, cigars and…and…

Recuk shuddered at the last scent he discerned.

"Hey, baby!" Recuk's agent greeted the bewildered young adult. "I know this isn't exactly your scene…" Recuk touched the mask on his face, making out some form of insectoid shape outline. "But there is no better place to be than right here, right now." Opening his eyes, he found his agent, and several other people whom he did not recognize, outfitted in various animal motifs.

"What did you get me into?" Recuk asked, considering leaving his agent to fend for herself.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" His agent began, completely ignoring Recuk. "I, the marvelous Agnes Bouquet, have done many amazing things in my life," She sauntered around the room, brushing her hand on the faces and outfits of several party goers before sitting on the aquarium table she mentioned to Recuk. "But finding that young, thriving, albeit a bit moody man," She pointed directly at Recuk.

"Is hands down," She spoke, picking both of her hands up. "The best thing that has ever happened to me." She lifted her drink, or at least a drink, and shouted. "To us!" Everyone in the room raised their glasses and drank alongside Agnes, as Recuk simply watched. Agnes set down her empty glass and continued: "And it's thanks to this gem here that we're all gathered here today to celebrate the new Inter-" Recuk placed his hand on Agnes' shoulder. She looked up at him, wondering exactly when he had crossed the room.

"Don't." Recuk spoke to her in an even tone. Agnes watched Recuk for a moment, understanding the pleasing look in his eyes, He had no desire for these people he did not know, or even the entire world, to know of his newly gained notoriety. In his eyes, Agnes saw the plea for a simple, quiet life.

And she ignored that. "He beat Isis, baby!"

The gathering of people were quiet. One person began to clap, and that escalated quickly into hooting and hollering of congratulations and compliments. Recuk let out a groan, moving his hand from Agnes' shoulder and onto his forehead. '(Why does no one listen?)'

After a few minutes, the applause died down, but one voice called out: "Speech!" Be it the atmosphere of the backroom, or the high energy from the news, everyone else in the room began changing the word speech, all eyes on Recuk.

"No, no." Recuk tried to politely decline. He put his hands up defensively and waved them, trying to disarm the situation. But of course, that was ineffective against a crowd of intoxicated and excited party goers. With a groan, Recuk turned to his agent. "You're done here." He spoke with absolution. "You've had more than enough to drink, and you've let sensitive information be released way too early."

"See," Agnes began with a knowing smile on her face. "That's your problem, Recuk. You're always so uptight!" She placed a hand on his arm and looked him in the eyes. "You've got to live a little, baby!" Agnes suddenly seized up, her grip on Recuk tightening while the rest of her body went slack. Recuk moved swiftly to grab his agent by the shoulders to support her weight. Agnes slumped over slightly, her head going limp for a moment and her tongue falling from her mouth.

"And it happens again." Recuk exasperated, hefting his agent off of the table and under his arm. The partygoers fell quiet, clearly caught off guard by Agnes' sudden loss of consciousness. "She's fine," Recuk assured them. "This happens whenever she gets too excited." With a huff at her dead weight, Recuk added. "Drinking doesn't help…" Recuk half carried, half dragged Agnes to the door and felt the vibrations of the music in his feet. He glanced back at Agnes and then stared at the door in front of him. '(Just my luck…)' He thought, before seeing motion beside him. A party goer had opened the door for him, and another took Agnes by the other arm and aided Recuk in carrying her to the front door.

"Thank you," Recuk spoke as the two partygoers straddled Agnes as Recuk called an ambulance. "I'll be sure you're both informed when she recovers in a day or two." They both gave Recuk nods of confirmation as they waited for the ambulance. Upon arrival, Recuk gave the paramedics Agnes' basic information, and showed them the bracelet she wore on her wrist at all times. Recuk gave them his cell phone number, so that he would be informed when she regained consciousness. Recuk gave the two partygoers his farewell, and they gave their congratulations, then headed for his duel runner.

"Hm?" Recuk noticed another duel runner parked a few spaces away from his. It was all green and the rider was leaning against it, checking their cellphone. "Odd…" He commented. "They weren't parked there when I got out of the bar." Recuk figured it must have pulled up around the same time as the ambulance, and the sound of the sirens muffled the sound of the duel runner's engine. Paying it no further mind, Recuk walked over to his duel runner. The other turbo duelist must have heard Recuk's footsteps, because they looked towards him as he approached.

Recuk made no change in his stride or expression, but internally sighed. '(Please don't recognize me and challenge me to a duel. I am in no mood to deal with that right now.)' Fortune was in Recuk's favor, as the duelist looked back down at his phone, seemingly disinterested in Recuk. Recuk stopped at his duel runner, and began unlocking it.

"Sweet ride." Recuk looked up from his duel runner's screen and looked over to the turbo duelist with the green duel runner.

"Thank you." Recuk spoke genuinely, still very aware that an unwanted challenge could come at any second. The challenge did not come, however, even after he had unlocked his duel runner and taken hold of his helmet.

"You may want to take your mask off, first, pal." Recuk stopped, his helmet over his head and his face tilted down towards his screen. He could see the outline of his reflection on the dashboard, and the prominent shape of a butterfly was still on his face. Recuk tucked his helmet under his arm, and haphazardly ripped off the mask and put on his helmet.

"Uh…" The duelist began again, prompting Recuk to stop inputting coordinates. "Not that it's any of my business…" The tentative voice of the duelist let Recuk know a question was coming. "But I think I saw you leave that bar. Are you sure you're in good enough condition to drive?"

Recuk, taken aback by the concern and mannerisms of the completely random duelist looked over at the male garbed in green. "I'm fine, thank you." He spoke with sincerity, although his voice did not show it. "I don't have any alcohol in my system."

"Okay," the male spoke with a bit of a shrug. "I didn't mean any harm; I just didn't want anyone getting hurt."

"I appreciate that." Recuk finalized the route that he would take back to his sisters. The midnight hour was at hand, and if he hurried, he could most likely get a few hours of sleep before spending the day with his sisters and Lilith. "You have a good night." Recuk revved his engine and began backing out of the parking lot.

"Oh, hey, wait a second!" The man in green jogged to catch up to Recuk. Recuk let out a sigh and halted. "Sorry, I don't mean to hold you up, but don't I know you from somewhere?"

Recuk shook his head almost instantaneously. "No."

"… I feel like I do." The man pointed at his helmet. "I don't look familiar to you?"

"I've never seen your helmet before, no." Recuk stated factually. The male let out a confused sound, and touched the helmet. He then chuckled.

"My bad," He removed his helmet, and Recuk's eyes widened in recognition. "So, you do recognize me after all?" The male commented, seeing Recuk's eyes widen behind his visor.

Recuk removed his helmet as well, and stepped off of his duel runner. Recuk and the male looked one another up for a while at first, assessing their current appearance with that of their past. Cautiously, the green haired male looked around before he held up his hand first, his thumb tucked into the palm of his hand. Recuk extended his hand in the same manner, and their thumbs became interlocked. After a few motions, their handshake ended with the male's hand over Recuk's, forming the alphabet T.

"I thought so," the male shook Recuk's hand normally. "Your name was… R something, right?"

"Recuk Revajik." Recuk stated. "And you're Jake."

"Right, sorry about that." Jake apologized. "I recalled it was something unique, but couldn't remember the proper pronunciation-" Jake cut himself off. "What were you doing here?"

Recuk sensed there was more to the question than a simple inquiry. "Just helping out a friend. And you?"

Jake gave a shrug. "Fate, I guess." After a beat, Jake asked in a hushed town. "Has there been any important business discussed I may need to know about?"

Recuk understood immediately. "No, no new updates for quite some time now. The usual channels are quiet, and so are the offices."

Jake nodded. "I see…" He placed his hand to his chin. "I thought for sure there'd be something here…" Recuk watched Jake, sensing a bit of turmoil from the man. Suddenly, Jake's Duel Runner beeped.

"Engaging Duel Mode." The automated female voice announced. Both duelists looked at the green vehicle; their attention then moved to Recuk's Duel Runner as it automatically beeped to life in response to Equinox. Recuk cautiously looked to Jake who was typing on the screen of his Duel Runner.

"Equinox, explain." Jake commanded.

"Following predetermined protocol R-001."

"What?!" Jake exclaimed. He watched as the new duel disk rose from Equinox's control panel. As Jake laid eyes on it, he knew that this had to be the root cause of the issue.

"Is there something you'd like to explain to me?" Recuk called out to Jake as they were both prompted to insert their cards into their duel disks. Jake ran through the story in his head; there'd be no way Recuk would be happy to hear that a program that had hacked into Equinox hacked into his duel runner remotely. Jake turned to face Recuk – the expression on Jake's face made Recuk's caution grow even more.

"So, Recuk… want to have a friendly turbo duel?"


	4. Chapter 4

**The Celestia vs. The World – Revised**!

Ambition That Attracts Darkness

Opening Arc

 _A special Thank You to Ba'al Belphegor for helping me work past a slump and regain my steam.  
A special Thank You to Andromeda Lazuli who reviews every chapter and I hope continues to do so.  
If you are reading, and enjoying this, I would appreciate some feedback from you, the fans in the making._

 _Now…_

 _Story ago-go!_

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – A Midnight Turbo Duel**

"Just a friendly Turbo Duel?" Recuk mimed giving Jake a questionable look, eyes bouncing between the duelist and his own duel runner.

"Yeah." Jake confirmed nonchalantly. "You need to unwind, and I need a refresher course."

"Unwind?"

"You seem a bit… uptight."

Recuk chose to ignore that comment. "You do know," Recuk began. "That if I get spotted in a Turbo Duel with some random person, no offense," Recuk added to which Jake just shrugged. "That it could potentially become a huge media scandal."

Jake gave Recuk a confident grin. "I know a route or two around this part of the city – hopefully, they haven't changed the back streets too much."

"Hmm…" Recuk considered Jake's offer, mulling over the pros and cons in his mind. "It has been nearly a year since my last Turbo Duel." He unconsciously voiced this fact out loud.

"It's been much longer for me." Jake commented, earning Recuk's attention. "Three years, I think." Recuk's eyes widened at that statement. Jake took note of that and continued. "Besides, it'll be a good chance for us to get to know each other better."

"You have an apt point." Recuk found that he was gradually beginning to like the idea, particularly when a sudden realization came to mind. "This would be our very first duel together."

"Oh yeah." Jake had not realized that himself. "Aside from that one event about two years ago, we haven't had any interaction."

"Although, I am curious to know how your duel runner activated mine."

"You are not the only one." Jake muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said, We're just Riders having fun."

"That doesn't explain…" Recuk let out a sigh; Jake wasn't going to give him a clear answer. Instead, Recuk spoke in a slightly less monotone voice. "This should give me a chance to prove myself to a veteran."

Jake smirked, picking up Recuk's joke. "I may have been outside of Neo Copan, but I keep an ear to the news," he nudged Recuk with his elbow. "Champion of United County."

Recuk let out what may have been a chuckle. "Why don't be both just have fun with this duel then?" He suggested. "No point in a veteran and the champion going full force this late at night."

"Of course." Jake intentionally sounded as though he were bragging. "We're both capable of not having our egos take over and just enjoying the ride."

"We say this now…" Recuk was the more serious of the two as he boarded his duel runner.

"Well, yeah. It's still a duel," Jake rolled his eyes as he mounted his duel runner. "I doubt either of us like losing." Recuk revved his engine and peeled out of the parking lot. Jake let out a sigh as he put on his helmet. "But we both have self-control…" Jake accelerated down the highway after Recuk, leaving behind the sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, I nearly forgot." Recuk began over the communications. "As I have to keep a promise, let's keep this duel short and start with four thousand life points."

"Keep a promise?" Jake entered the route he knew into Equinox and sent it to Recuk.

"I need to be somewhere before 6am." Recuk received the route and programmed it into his duel runner. "Hopefully it isn't too much of an inconvenience?"

"Not at all, Recuk." Jake looked at Equinox's dashboard as it synced up with Recuk's. It showed a Field Spell card that Jake wasn't fully familiar with. '(Speed World 2? This is new…)'

"Speed World 2, Set! Activate!" Recuk declared. He noticed Jake had spoken the words about a second later.

Both of their duel runners announced. "Autopilot, Standing by."

"With that out of the way, we'll race to the first corner." Recuk suggested the all too well known method of deciding who goes first. Jake showed his approval by revving up his engine. Both duelists checked their maps; the first turn would be upon them in no time, and Jake was already noticing the teardrop shaped red duel runner gaining a slight lead.

'(He accelerates faster than I do,)' Jake noticed, glancing at the speedometers on screen. In no time, Recuk was on the turn. Jake also noticed, however, that Recuk's speed slowed down just as he started the turn. Jake, however, managed to speed into the turn.

Recuk heard Jake behind him, and with a hint of a smirk, revved his engine, propelling him outside of the corner and giving himself the clear lead. "The first turn is mine."

* * *

 **Recuk: 4000 LP  
Jake: 4000 LP**

"I'll draw!" The two were neck to tailpipe as they rode down the highway. Recuk looked at his hand. "I summon **Fabled Ashenveil** in defense position!" (1600/ 1200)

"I'll use the effect of my **Fabled Grimro** from my hand. Because I control a face up 'Fabled' monster, I can discard my Grimro in order to add one 'Fabled' monster to my hand that isn't Fabled Grimro." Recuk watched as a single card ejected from his deck. He took it and announced its name. "I've chosen The **Fabled Soulkius**." Recuk's Deck automatically shuffled as he added the monster to his hand. "I set two cards and I end my turn."

"I draw!" Jake declared, doing just that. His hand count at six, and both duelists Speed Counters at one, Jake announced his move. "I'll summon ' **Ekkeko'** (1900/1200)from my hand in Attack Mode!"

"Ekkeko?" Recuk raised an eyebrow at the name. "I've seen a wide variety of cards, but none by that name."

Jake's response was only a grin. "Ekkeko, take out his Ashenveil!" Jake's monster leaped towards Recuk's, lifting its arms embroidered in gold, and brought crushed Recuk's monster.

"I'll activate my **Time Machine** trap card!" Recuk activated one of his face down cards. "It lets me bring back a monster destroyed by battle in the position it was destroyed in." Ashenveil returned to the field from the steam powered, metal mass.

"I'll set two cards face down, and end my turn. Your move!"

Recuk calmly drew a card, glanced at it and swapped it for another card in his hand.

 _Status: Both Duelists have 2 Speed Counters._

 _Recuk: 4000 LP. Hand 4. Field: 1 Monster. 1 Facedown._

 _Jake: 4000 LP Hand: 3. Field: 1 Monster. 2 Facedown cards_

"I'll use the effect of my Ashenveil once more!" Recuk discarded a card and another card ejected itself from his Deck. "I'm adding **The** **Fabled Cerburrel** to my hand." His Deck shuffled, and pressed a button on his Duel Runner screen. Jake's screen beeped, and the image of Recuk's field zoomed in on his Graveyard.

"Since the monster I discarded was my ' **Fabled Alabaster'** , its effect triggers; I can select and destroy one face down card on the field." Jake's screen shifted its attention from Recuk's Graveyard to the card Jake had set on the right. Beside his Duel Runner, the hologram of his card exploded into pixels, momentarily revealing itself to be **Negate Attack**. Recuk acknowledged this and continued his turn.

"By releasing my Fabled Ashenveil from the field, I Advance Summon my **Fabled Soulkius** ( 2200/2100), and attack your Ekkeko!" Soulkius' wings seemed to grow twice their original size as it took flight towards Jake's field. It swooped down, and brought its fist upon Ekkeko's face, destroying the monster.

Jake's LP: 4000 – 3700

"Since Ekkeko was the only monster I controlled and it was destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon my **Supay** Tuner monster directly from my Deck!" Jake pulled the card from his deck and placed it on his field in Defense mode before his deck was finished shuffling.

"I see." Recuk evaluated the effect of Jake's monster.

"See what?" Jake asked, curious.

"Hm, it'd be better to wait until the duel progresses before I say anything." Recuk set a card face down on his field. "I end my turn."

"If that's what you think is best." Jake drew a card then smiled at it, as his and Recuk's Speed Counters now clocked in at three. "Go, **Speed Spell - Angel Baton**!" He placed the Spell card specifically made for Turbo Duels onto his Duel Disk. "As I have two or more Speed Counters, this little number allows me to draw two cards!" Jake plucked two cards from the top of his deck and added them to his hand. "But I'm also forced to send one card from my Hand to my Graveyard."

Jake slipped a monster card into his Graveyard. "But I drew just what I needed. Come forth, **Apocatequil!"** ( 1800/1200) Recuk watched as the monster's level changed from four, as indicated on the card he saw via his computer screen, to five when it was summoned onto the field.

"It gains a level when there's a Tuner present on the side of your field." Recuk devised.

Jake pointed to his monsters beside him. "Now, I'll tune my level one Supay to my now level five Apocatequil!" Supay became a single green ring that Apocatequil flew into. Slowly, Apocatequil's frame faded until it was five level stars.

"The Moon's glow encompasses all, and its shadow is ever present on all creation. The shimmering light purges all that would close their eyes to the tyranny. My eyes are open, my vision is clear and my heart, full of your wisdom."

The green circle turned navy blue, its light forming shadows that resembled craters on the moon. Four serpentine heads emerged from the center consecutively, each navy blue and cyan in color and sprouting long whiskers. The quadruple headed dragon roared as its moon shone brightly.

"Give me courage, **Moon Dragon Quilla!"** (2500/ 2000)

"Not so fast!" Recuk interjected. "Because you Synchro Summoned a monster, I can activate my **Discord Counter** Trap Card, returning your Synchro Monster to your Extra Deck, and bringing back all the Synchro Material." The second card Recuk set on his first turn was revealed.

"I anticipated as much!" Jake activated the second card he also set on his first turn. "I chain my Trap Card, **'Unstoppable Summon!'** "

"Unstoppable Summon?" Recuk mimed. "Not only do you own unique cards, but you also have cards that are no longer in production?"

Jake smirked as he inserted a Synchro Monster into his Graveyard. "You know about this card?"

"Anyone who takes dueling seriously would know about a card that protects a monster Special Summoned from all card effects that target, so long as its controller sends a card of the same Card Type, Monster Type and Level to the Graveyard from either their Hand or Extra Deck." Recuk then continued. "It was pulled from circulation with the advent of powerful Synchro Monsters and people having card multiples just to fulfil its effects."

"You really know your stuff." Jake then spoke with a half surprised, half joking tone. "Which also means that you know there aren't any official rulings stating that this card cannot be used in a duel."

"Of course," Recuk picked up on Jake's tone but made no reaction to it. "I am surprised to see it in your deck, but I highly doubt that you'd have more than one of that card existing in your deck."

"I don't," Jake assured him. "But your luck runs out now that my Moon Dragon Quilla attacks your Soulkius!" Recuk watched as the dragon shot forth a stream of cyan light and destroyed his monster.

Recuk's LP: 4000 - 3700

"I activate my Trap Card!" Recuk extended his hand to the hologram that now revealed itself.

" **The Grave of Enkindling**?" Jake selected his Apocatequil from his Graveyard and placed it on his field in Defense mode. "Thanks for the effect monster, Recuk." Jake watched as another of Recuk's Fabled monsters took the field. Its skin was as white as – "Fabled Alabaster?"

"Yes," Recuk confirmed Jake's suspicions (1100/800). "Now, are you done with your turn?"

Jake checked his hand, then set one card. "Didn't mean to keep you waiting. I end my turn."

Recuk drew his card.

 _Status: Both Duelists have 4 Speed Counters and 3700 Life Points._

 _Recuk: Hand: 2. Field: 1 Monster. No Facedown Cards_

 _Jake: Hand: 3. Field: 2 Monsters. 1 Facedown Card_

"I didn't mean to come off as impatient," Recuk began explaining himself. "It's just that it's always exciting to face a new duelist, particularly when they have a deck that's as unique as yours."

Jake couldn't help but smile. "The feeling is mutual, buddy. I can't say that I've faced a deck with as much versatility and control as your Fabled monsters."

"Oh?" Recuk allowed himself a bit of playful sarcasm. "I didn't know my deck was so easy to read."

"It isn't." Jake spoke immediately and truthfully. "But I can tell by your calm demeanor and the way you chose which cards to pull that this duel hasn't even brought out the small arms."

"Hmph," Recuk felt the corner of his mouth turn upward. "Then, allow me to show you a little bit of… firepower, if you will." Recuk played the card he just drew. "Since I have more than three Speed Counters, I can activate the **Speed Spell – Back To Square One**!"

Jake's smile dropped to a frown.

"I discard The Fabled Cerburrel in order to send one face-up monster you control back to the top of your Deck!" Jake watched as Quilla was engulfed in green light and floated back to his Duel Runner. "And when Cerburrel is discarded, it's Special Summoned."

Jake realized what Recuk's plan was. "Two monsters, and you specifically brought back that Alabaster last turn, so Cerburrel must be a tuner monster!"

"He who utters "dreams are only dreams" has never experienced true desire. Dreams are more, much more, than just images. Dreams fuel our very will to live! Be born from my dreams!" The level three Fabled Alabaster flew into the two green circles that was once The Fabled Cerburrel. When the light faded, a new, more menacing monster had taken their place.

"I Synchro Summon, **Fabled Ragin**!" ( 2300/1800) "And because I have one or fewer cards in my hand, I can draw up to two since Ragin was successfully Synchro Summoned." Recuk drew two cards with one pull. He looked at them before moving onto his Battle Phase.

"Ragin, destroy Apocatequil with Lucid Dream Rush!" Jake watched as Ragin created multiples of itself and the copies swarmed his monster. It exploded into pixels that Recuk watched carefully.

"I see you noticed my monster's ability." A card ejected from Jake's Graveyard. "When Apocatequil is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon **Oracle Of The Sun** from my Graveyard!" (1000/ 2000)

"As I suspected." Recuk seemed to be focused. "Your monsters gain their effects from being destroyed." Jake, who was now neck and neck with Recuk, looked in his direction but didn't show any signs of confirmation. "And you discarded Oracle due to the effect of Angel Baton, preparing for a counterattack." Jake shot Recuk a smile. "But nothing is that simple in life. I end my turn."

"I'll draw!" Jake drew and accessed his situation, as well as his hand. "It's true many of my monsters gain their effects from being destroyed by battle." Recuk noticed Jake's eyes fall on a card. He then seemed to decide against it and pulled a different card from his hand. "But this little fella here is a monster known as **Fire Ant Ascator** , and it has a potential only it can unlock."

"Yet another card you own that I haven't encountered before." Recuk did not allude to the fact that he had seen Jake change his mind.

"Then allow me to explain." Jake began. "You recall that I used Supay to Synchro Summon Moon Dragon Quilla earlier?"

"Along with your Apocatequil, two turns ago." Recuk stated logically. "Does that mean that Supay was a required Tuner monster?"

"Yes," Jake then showed Recuk the monster in his hand. "And this here is the key to bringing out another Synchro monster that requires a specific Tuner monster." Jake summoned the monster to his side of the field."

I see," Recuk looked at the level of Jake's Oracle Of The Sun. "A level eight Synchro Summon, then." He then recalled the monster Jake Synchro Summoned earlier on. "And if the first dragon represents the moon, then…"

"The Sun's light and warmth envelop all of creation. The blinding light shuns those that would close their eyes to the truth. My eyes are open, my vision is clear and my heart, full of your wisdom." The five level stars of Jake's Oracle became a single green circle in which the three level stars of Fire Ant Ascator began to hum and resonate within.

The green circle turned orange, its light forming wisps that made it resemble the sun. Four serpentine heads emerged from the center consecutively, each red-orange in color and sprouting long whiskers. The quadruple headed dragon roared as its sun shone brightly.

"Illuminate my path, **Sun Dragon Inti**!" ( 3000/2800)

"You're not the only one who can set up his field for a Synchro Summon ahead of time, Recuk. Sun Dragon Inti, Solar Crimson Purge! Destroy Recuk's Fabled Ragin!" The crimson blast stuck Ragin for a direct hit. Just as the blast would have destroyed Recuk's monster, a pair of white angel wings appeared from behind Ragin.

"During the Damage Step," Recuk sent one of his cards to the Graveyard. "I can discard **Honest** when a LIGHT Attribute monster I control does battle in order to increase my monster's attack by your monster's attack power!"

Fabled Ragin: 2300 – 5300

Jake yelled as his Sun Dragon, quite literally, blew up in his face.

Jake's LP: 3700 – 2300 = 1400

"Heh; Inti is _also_ one of my monsters with an effect that activates after being destroyed by battle!" The orange pixels that composed Inti hovered in the air before taking aim at Fabled Ragin. "Any monster that destroys Inti is destroyed in return, and you take damage equivalent to half of that monster's attack points!" Recuk let out a sharp gasp at the surprise effect of Jake's monster.

Recuk's LP: 3700 – 2650 = 1050

Recuk felt his Duel Runner seize up at the sudden registration of the damage he took. For a brief moment, his back wheel whipped out of control. Jake looked back – only to find Recuk had already gained his bearings.

"You okay?" Jake asked. Recuk nodded. "I shouldn't be surprised my worry was ill placed. After all, you managed to slay my Inti and survive its effect while still dealing big damage to me." Jake then looked at Recuk's remaining Life Points as well as his own. '(We didn't lose two Speed Counters for the one thousand increments of damage?)'

"I'll admit; your Inti's effect took me by surprise," Recuk let out a bit of a sigh. "Had that been another one of my Fabled Synchro monsters, then… I may not have made it. You've been praising me for my ability to control my deck, but you're no slouch yourself."

Jake let out a laugh. "This is what it means to duel, Recuk. To have a good time and find out more about the person you're facing."

Recuk gave Jake a nod. "The term 'opponent' doesn't need to imply that we are at odds or want to see the other defeated." With a smirk, Recuk added. "But if that was your best move, Jake, I'm afraid you'll be facing defeat on my next turn."

"Oh really?" Jake smiled. "Then by all means, try me. I end my turn."

Recuk gave Jake a look of precaution. "With just that one card on the field?"

"Yup." Jake's eyes were adamant.

"Hmm. In that case, I draw!"

 _Status: Both Duelists have 6 Speed Counters._

 _Recuk: Hand: 2. Field: Empty._

 _Jake: Hand: 3. Field: 1 Facedown Card_

"Come forth, **Fabled Urustos!** ( 1500/200) And so long as I have two or less cards in my hand, all Fabled monsters I control gain four hundred attack points!"

Fabled Urustos: 1500 – 1900

Recuk glanced at Jake's facedown card. '(Like most, Jake's deck seems to be reliant on Battle. Aside from his Negate Attack I destroyed on the third turn with the effect of Alabaster, I haven't seen any other cards that alter the outcome of battles. He's likely to have cards like that in his possession, but since the majority of his monsters gain their effects from being destroyed, I'd bet such cards are few and far between.)' Recuk came to a decision.

'(I was never much of a betting man.)' "By removing two of my Speed Counters," Recuk's Speed Counters decreased by two, and as a direct result, his Duel Runner slowed down so that he was now behind Jake. "I can activate the **Speed Spell – Mystical Space Typhoon**." Jake's facedown card was destroyed. Recuk made a sound of recognition when he saw it was **Sakuretsu Armor**.

"Fabled Urustos, attack Jake directly and end this duel!"

"From my hand!" Jake declared. "I discard my **'Copacati'** and end the battle phase!"

"Hm. I end my turn."

Jake drew a card, then visibly frowned. "I set three cards and one monster. And with that, it's your turn."

"Oh?" Recuk drew his card. He considered several options, the first of which was asking Jake: "We're at the climax of the duel, and you resort to playing defensively?"

"You were a little too close to figuring out my strategy," Jake laughed. "So I figured I'd change it up a bit."

"I see." Recuk pointed towards Jake's facedown monster. "Then let me do the same; attack, Urustos!" Jake's face-down monster was flipped face up as Recuk's attack went through. This was, of course, Jake's intention. " **Morphing Jar!** " Recuk placed the only card in his hand to the Graveyard and then drew five cards. Jake also drew five cards due to the effect of Morphing Jar.

"Now, your Urustos loses its power up effect!" Jake declared triumphantly.

Fabled Urustos: 1900 - 1500

"Since I discarded **Fabled Krus** , I can Special Summon a level four or lower Fabled monster from my Graveyard. So come back to me, Fabled Alabaster!"

"I think not! Go, **'Inca Revenge – Abduction'**!"

"Another -?" Recuk kept himself composed against the slew of cards he wasn't familiar with.

"Since you now control two more monsters than I do, and you special summoned a level three monster, I get to take control of your Alabaster!"

Recuk watched as Jake's Trap Card draped his monster with ornamental chains and dragged it to Jake's side of the field.

"I set two cards face down and end my turn."

Jake pulled his head back a bit if curiosity. '(Is he… is he upset?)' Jake drew a card, wary of Recuk's tone that… hadn't really changed.

 _Status:_

 _Jake: 1400 LP. Hand: 6. Field: 1 Monster. Two Facedown Cards. 9 Speed Counters_

 _Recuk: 1050 LP. Hand: 3. Field: 1 Monster. Two Facedown Cards. 7 Speed Counters._

"I Normal Summon **Plaguespreader Zombie**!" Jake announced. "And now, I'll tune it with your Fabled Alabaster in order to Synchro Summon **Ally Of Justice Catastor**! ( 2200/1200)"

"The Trap Card, **Bottomless Trap Hole** destroys and Banishes your Synchro monster!"

Jake did not falter as he set another card on the field. "Your move."

Recuk silently drew a card, "I activate my trap card, **Forced Ceasefire**."

Recuk noticed the expression on Jake's face. "I discard a card in order to prevent the activation of trap cards this turn." Jake's eyes widened and he looked down at his field.

"Urustos, end the duel!"

"I activate the Quick-Play **Speed Spell – Enemy Controller!"** Jake revealed the middle card he had set on the field. "Since I have three or more Speed Counters, I can use this to change your Urustos to defense mode!" Recuk's attacking monster visibly struggled as it was forced to fold its wings over its body and return to Recuk's side. (1500/ 200).

"As I discarded my **'Cost For Gain'** Trap Card, I can activate its second effect and draw a card from my Deck." Recuk plucked the top card from his deck and set a monster on the field. "That was a risky move, Jake; banking on the hope I didn't summon another monster on my turn."

"Well," Jake clarified. "I may or may not have had something else planned, but didn't think you'd have Forced Ceasefire, or that Bottomless Trap Hole, for that matter."

"Catastor was definitely a threat," Recuk admitted. "As it automatically destroys any monster that isn't a DARK Attribute, and my Fabled monsters are all LIGHT Attribute." Recuk paused for a moment before uttering. "Your deck really is something else. End turn"

"It's a bit of a hodgepodge," Jake remarked. "It's made up of donated cards from those close to me when I was a child. It has a few of my own special cards, as you've experienced firsthand, but that's what makes it unique." Jake smirked at the card he drew, and played another card in his hand. "I summon the monster **Giant Rat** in attack mode, ( 1450/1400) and use it to destroy Urustos!"

Recuk watched as his monster exploded into pixels. "I end my turn, Recuk." Recuk drew a card from his deck and looked over his hand.

 _Status:_

 _Recuk: 1050 LP. Hand: 3. Field: 1 Monster. One Facedown Card. 8 Speed Counters_

 _Jake: 1400 LP. Hand: 5. Field: 1 Monster. Two Facedown Cards. 10 Speed Counters_

"I Flip Summon **Fabled Topi**. ( 500/200) And now that it's face-up, I can use its effect." Recuk placed a card from his Hand onto his Duel Disk. Jake's Duel Runner made a notification noise.

"You're revealing a card to me?" Jake looked over the **Fabled Catsith** Recuk was showing him. "Another Fabled monster, no less…"

"And now that it's been revealed, Topi can get released to destroy two of your Spell or Trap cards!" Jake watched as Recuk's monster flew over to his side of the field and drug the holograms down into a dark abyss. Recuk made a note of the cards he destroyed. '( **Nutrient Z.** A wise card to have under these circumstances. But what does ' **Contract Of The Reaper'** do?)'

"Well," Jake's words cut into Recuk's thoughts. "I can't say that I was expecting that. But it's not like I wasn't ready. Since 'Contract Of The Reaper' was destroyed by a card effect you controlled, I have to send a Monster from my Deck to my Graveyard!" Jake pulled a card that was ejected from his Deck and placed it into his Graveyard along with the cards Recuk had just destroyed.

Recuk kept a note of Jake's card effect. "And now I'll activate my **Call of the Haunted** Trap Card!" Recuk's facedown card flipped up, revealing a card depicting a cemetery. The card glowed white and his Fabled Ragin returned to the field. "Now I Normal Summon my **Fabled Kushano** (1100/800) and tune him to my Ragin!"

Fabled Kushano became three green rings that rotated around Fabled Ragin. Ragin broke down to its level stars with a roar. "What you call demons, monsters and abominations I call family. I find solace in what you call fear, depression and nightmares. What you call sinister is only misunderstood! Show everyone your light, **Fabled Valkyrus**!" ( 2900/1700)

Jake stared up at the new monster Recuk had Synchro Summoned. Its wings were black as night. It wore luxuriant black armor, detailed with red and gold that showed the disposition of a veteran familiar with war. Its cruel smile was just as terrifying as its masked face, and the small red demon-looking companion over its right shoulder did nothing to comfort Jake.

"I'll use Valkyrus' effect and discard one Fiend-Type monster from my hand," Jake saw the Fabled Catsith Recuk revealed earlier get sent to the Graveyard. "And draw a card. But as you already figured, my Catsith has an effect trigger when it is discarded."

Jake watched as the Catsith appeared behind his Giant Rat. Jake's Giant Rat turned around and let out a screech as the rat was consumed by the cat.

"Catsith destroys a face-up card on the field, and since your Rat wasn't destroyed by battle, its effect to Special Summon a monster from your Deck isn't triggered." Recuk gestured his palm to Jake; Fabled Valkyrus did the same. "Unless you have an ace in the hole, this is where you are defeated! Valkyrus, attack Jake directly with Vengeful Law!"

Fabled Valkyrus' hand descended upon Jake's Duel Runner. "From my Graveyard!" Jake declared; a white haired being in armor appeared between Recuk's attacking monster and Jake. "I Banish **Necro Gardna** to negate your attack!" Jake's Duel Runner shook as Valkyrus struck Necro Gardna, the close call seeming to have manifested itself physically.

"Another risky maneuver, Jake." Recuk set a card, its hologram appearing behind Valkyrus, "Your move."

'(And it might be my last.)' Jake drew a card then looked at it.

 _Status:_

 _Jake: LP: 1400 Hand: 6 Field: Empty. 11 Speed Counters_

 _Recuk: LP: 1050 Hand: 3. Field: 1 Monster. 1 Facedown Card. 9 Speed Counters_

"This card…" Jake looked at the Speed Spell. "It's powerful, and it can be enough to win the duel but…" He looked at his hand. "None of my monsters are strong enough…" He looked at his Deck. "If only I had another draw."

"Suggestion." The female voice of Equinox in his ear startled Jake. "Why not use the draw effect of Speed World 2?"

"Draw effect?" Jake repeated. "Inquiry; what do you know about Speed World 2?" His computer beeped, displaying information that Jake had never seen before. _"An update on_ _vocabulary and information on Duel Monsters cards that was previously absent from my internal database."_ Equinox's words after the synchronization of the new duel disk came to the forefront of Jake's mind. '(This must be some of the information from the data media.)' Recuk, who was a few feet away, heard this exchange.

"You didn't know Speed World 2 had new card effects?"

"No," Jake admitted as he scanned the effects. "Like I said, it's been over two years since my last Turbo Duel. They've really pulled out all the stops for Turbo Duels in such a short time." Jake looked away from his screen and over his shoulder at Recuk. Although he couldn't see Recuk's face, Jake sensed a bit of resignation coming from his current opponent.

"Okay!" Jake began, his voice carrying a strong sense of confidence. "Now that I've been brought up to speed, I'll activate the effect of Speed World 2!" Jake's Duel Runner began to slow down significantly. Recuk watched Jake as he decelerated and ended up many yards behind him. "By removing seven Speed Counters, I get to draw another card!" Jake placed his hand on his deck and inhaled deeply. '(Come through for me…)' He drew his card and hoped for the best.

Recuk could feel the tension coming from Jake as he peeked at the card.

"I'll start by returning one card from my Hand to the top of my Deck," Jake followed through with his actions. "In order to Special Summon Plaguespreader Zombie from my Graveyard!" Jake placed the card on his duel disk, then removed it once the hologram of his monster appeared. "But it's not sticking around, as I release it to Advance Summon **Cyber-Tech Alligator**! ( 2500/1600)"

"You chose to draw again?" Recuk inquired. "You could have destroyed my monster, then attempted a direct attack." Recuk eyed Jake's field. "Unless you don't have any monsters in your Hand strong enough to take me out this turn…"

"Like I said," Jake selected the card he drew during his Draw Phase. "I figured I'd try a different approach. Now, since I still have two or more Speed Counters, I can activate the **Speed Spell – Curse Of Fate!** "

Recuk's eyes widened. "You're going to try and end this with a burn effect?!"

"That's right! Now I select my Alligator as the target of Curse of Fate, so you take damage equal to half of its attack points!" Cyber-Tech Alligator began to glow green, and its attack points were reduced.

Cyber-Tech Alligator: 2500 – 1250

The monster spread its wings and flew directly towards Recuk. "It was a great duel, Recuk! Thanks for helping me get back into the swing of things!"

"It really was a great duel." Recuk felt a smirk on his face as he pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate my Trap Card, **Barrel Behind The Door**." The trap card's hologram appeared on the field and intercepted Jake's monster. "If I would take damage due to a card effect, my opponent takes it instead!" Jake's monster pulled an about face and struck Jake instead.

Jake's LP: 1400 – 1250 = 150

Jake's duel runner seized up and his screen began to blink red in a critical warning. "That was all I could do… End turn."

"Since you're out of moves," Recuk declared, drawing a card. "I'll show you how to use Speed World 2. I remove ten Speed Counters!" Recuk's Speed Counters dropped to zero. "And destroy your Alligator," Jake watched as his monster exploded violently. Recuk extended his palm towards Jake. "Valkyrus, finish this!"

* * *

Jake and Recuk's Duel Runners were parked on the side of the road. The two Turbo Duelists stood near the face of a cliff looking over the ocean. They both stared out at the night sky that was beginning to lighten in color. Neither had uttered a single word since the outcome of the duel. Recuk stood closer to the highway, reclined on the guard rail and staring outward. Jake sat on a rock just beyond the road, his legs crossed and tucked beneath him. Both duelists were in their own minds, vaguely aware of each other's presence.

Jake was the first to break the silence. "Looks like the sun is rising early today."

Recuk checked his watch. "It's four thirteen. I have just enough time to get back to my sisters."

Jake looked over his shoulder at Recuk. "Sisters?" Recuk looked over at Jake; Recuk didn't realize he had been speaking out loud. "Hey, if you had to get back to your family, you could have said no to the duel."

"Hmm…" Recuk seemed to have had not heard Jake's comment judging by body language. Jake, however, could see the wrinkles form on his brow. "Everything worked out well enough."

"I guess so…" Jake spoke in a hushed tone. He stared at Recuk from a moment as the gears in his mind slowly started to turn.

' _(A fully functioning, ten year old duel disk that follows my incomplete blueprints hacks into my security shortly after coming back to Neo Copan City, guides me to this out of the way bar, and I reconnect with one of the last people I would have ever expected to cross paths with again.)'_ Jake let out a low grumble. _'(Fate may not have been the only factor in these recent events…)'_

"Something wrong?" Jake blinked, and noticed Recuk was fully facing him.

"Just as caught up in my head as you are yours." Jake showed a bit of humor to Recuk. Recuk, apparently, either did not find that funny or the comment was lost on him.

"Jake."

"Hmm?"

"Will you tell me what happened with our duel runners earlier?"

"I will when I understand it myself." Jake spoke with a heavy tone of exasperation.

"I guess that's fair enough. And about the duel, with Speed World 2-"

"I missed a lot in the world of dueling, and you helped me get on the path to catching up. But that's what friends are for, right, Recuk?"

Recuk remained silent after that comment. "If we're done here," He spoke after a moment. "I have to go keep my promise." Recuk began walking towards his duel runner.

"Don't let me stop you." Jake gave Recuk a wave with his right hand. "Until our paths cross again." Jake heard Recuk's footsteps come to an abrupt halt. He glanced away from the sunrise and towards Recuk. From this angle, Recuk's shadow was cast long and narrow across the road towards his duel runner.

"You said the same thing to me when we first parted ways." Recuk spoke loud enough so that Jake could hear him. He looked at Jake who was illuminated by the rays of light emanating from the sun and looked as though he had a glowing outline around his body. "In the exact same tone, with the same lazy wave, too."

"Lazy?" Jake glanced at his hand. "Hmm… Recuk…" Jake got up from the rock he sat on and walked towards Recuk. Jake stopped about a foot away and looked directly into Recuk's face. "Your eyes… they've changed from the last time we saw each other."

Recuk raised an eyebrow.

Jake remained silent for a moment, as did Recuk, who knew Jake was reading him. "You're no longer a rookie – and I'm not talking about dueling." Recuk gave Jake a small nod, understanding what he meant. "Some advice from a veteran…" Jake offered. "That darkness you feel lingering over you every second of the day?"

Recuk's brow furrowed at the serious tone Jake gave him. It sounded nothing like his usual disinterested and airy tone.

"Don't let it consume you." Jake's words sounded more like an order than a suggestion.

"I won't." Recuk spoke with certainty. Jake gave Recuk a nod in return before returning to the rock. Once again, he sat on it with crossed legs. After a few minutes, Recuk asked. "Tell me… have you seen the point of origin in latitude and longitude?"

Jake, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be drifting off, inhaled sharply and opened his eyes. "It is said that when people seek the point of origin, they find themselves stuck between dusk and dawn."

Recuk nodded at Jake's response then turned to his duel runner one final time. "Should you find the path through dusk and dawn, know that I shall ride alongside you to twilight." Recuk boarded his duel runner and revved his engine. He gave Jake another look before riding off into the sunrise.

* * *

 _This duel featured custom cards made by authors of fanfiction who submitted characters for this story. Those cards, along with their characters, are their sole property. Should you like to use any of the following cards, or any other custom cards featured in this work, you must obtain their consent and give them proper credit afterward._

 **Ekkeko**

[LV 4] EARTH ATK 1900 DEF 1200] [Fiend/Effect]

When this card is destroyed by battle; if you control no other monsters, Special Summon one 'Supay' or 'Fire Ant Ascator' from your Deck. If this card is in your Graveyard when a 'Sun Dragon Inti' or 'Moon Dragon Quilla' is Banished: Special Summon this monster.

Card created by: Xen Kenshin. Used by Jake - Character created by Xen Kenshin

 **Fabled Alabaster**

[LV3] LIGHT [ATK 1100 DEF 800] [Fiend/Effect]

If this card is discarded; select one facedown card on the field and destroy it.

Card created by: Xen Kenshin. Used by Recuk Revajik - Character created by Baalphegor

 **Unstoppable Summon** (Normal Trap)

Activate when a monster you have Special Summoned is targeted by a card effect. Send one card from your Hand or Extra Deck that is the same Card Type, Monster Type and Level to the Graveyard. The targeted monster cannot be effected by any cards that target this turn, aside from this card.

Card created by: Xen Kenshin. Used by Jake – Character created by Xen Kenshin

 **Copacati**

WATER Aqua/Effect LV: 3 ATK: 0 DEF: 1500

When your opponent declares a direct attack: Discard this card from your Hand and end the Battle Phase. You can skip your Draw Phase and send a card from your Hand to the Graveyard to add this card from your Graveyard to your Hand.

Card created by: Xen Kenshin. Used by Jake – Character created by Xen Kenshin

 **Cost For Gain** (Normal)

Activate when you pay a cost to increase your monster's Attack or Defense points. The increase becomes double the amount. The monster is sent to the Graveyard at the end of the Battle Phase. If this card is discarded from your hand to fulfil a cost, you may draw one card.

Card created by Xen Kenshin. Used by Recuk Revajik – Character created by Baalphegor

 **Contract Of The Reaper** (Normal)

If this card is destroyed by an effect you control, your opponent must send one Monster from their Deck to their Graveyard. If this card is destroyed by an effect your opponent controls, you must send on Monster from your Deck to the Graveyard.

Card created by Xen Kenshin. Used by Jake – Character created by Xen Kenshin


	5. An Important Notice

Hello everyone. I know it has been roughly two months since the last update for the re-release of TCvTW, and a few of you are concerned about the status of the story. The story is still in progress, but while reviewing the characters and its current plot course, I have encountered some things that had eluded my previous revision of the series. I will not be mentioning what the issue(s) was, or any specific details regarding the issue(s) at this time. I had thought it would only take a short time to fix the issue(s), but as time drew on, so did the amount of time required to fully review and correct things.

As some may recall, I had mentioned many a time before, during and after the re-release of the story that several characters who were accepted for TCvTW in its previous form would need to be cut and those who remained would have to have their biographies altered in a variety of ways. As I now, as I have no choice but to sort through the characters and their connections to the story, this presents a perfect time to return the biographies of old to those members of fanfiction who submitted them, and hopefully, receive improved versions of the original characters. Similar to last time, I will work with the creators in tandem to meet their desires for a character, while also fulfilling the newly adapted requirements to submit a well-developed and thought out character for TCvTW. I will make this perfectly clear for everyone to understand here and now, as to avoid confusion in the future:

If you are not willing to fully cooperate during _and after_ the creation of your character  
If you are absent for a prolonged period of time, without prior notice OR good reason, before your character is completed  
If you prove to be difficult in understanding that creating a character is a give and take process

Your character will not be (re)submitted into the story, the spot will then become vacant, and someone else can then submit a character in your stead.

While this does seem rather harsh, and possibly even a bit pretentious of me, this is a standard that I must set now and enforce in the days to come. There will be further details in the future in regards to the guidelines above, likely when I begin to return OCs to their creators for editing, or informing creators that their OCs have been cut from the current roster of thirty five characters. I, myself, am no exclusion to these guidelines; it is said "You are your own worst critic", and I am amplifying that motto tenfold as I revise not only my characters, but also the current standard of writing that I am producing and the direction the series is taking versus the direction it may go in in the future.

Another topic I want to address is the communication between fan and reader. As it is still very early in the plot of TCvTW, I am not expecting discussions, speculation, feedback, or even reviews from every single person who reads. However, reviews with constructive criticism are always welcome, as one can never stop improving their techniques and writing styles. And as time goes on and both the story and the fan base grows, it would be a massive morale boost to know that there are dedicated readers genuinely interested in the series and its progression. And as I always say whenever I mention the TCvTW forum; the more the merrier. As per the forum itself, it is open to any of you who read the story and would like to chat with other readers or myself.

Of course, I will do my part to keep the story interesting and captivating. As I touched upon briefly earlier in this notice, I am always working on my writing. Not only am I focusing on reducing context and grammar, spelling and punctuation errors, I am also tweaking my writing style to contain less "words" and more "detail". Anyone who has read the previous version of TCvTW and the new version should be able to see the clear difference(s) between the first few chapters.

To reiterate, it has been roughly two months since the chapter four update of TCvTW. I currently do not have a projected time as for when chapter five will be released, and that is because I have to work through chapters one through four again, since the discovery of the new issue(s). I will be keeping everyone up to date with periodic messages on the Admin Thread of my forum. Again, if you are interested in TCvTW, you should visit the forum from time to time, as it is not always entertainment that is discussed, but also the status of the story itself. This notice will be placed in the story itself, as well as on the Admin Thread of the forum, so that it is accessible when needed.

In conclusion, I will like to thank all of you who have contributed to TCvTW thus far, be it reading, submitting and especially reviewing. While it is disappointing to have to halt the story so soon after its re-release, I am sure we can all agree it is better to catch, address and resolve issue(s) earlier, rather than later.

With solemn thanks,

Xen Kenshin


	6. A Second Important Notice

Hello everyone. Earlier this month, I posted the notice informing every one of the hiatus of TCvTW would be entering as I worked on the character roster. I have already worked on a number of these characters and will begin the returning them to their creators for the mass re-editing process. I am fortunate enough to have found a rather simple means of reviewing characters and making notes and suggestions prior to returning the OCs. The true difficulty will be working with so many people to re-create so many characters once again.

One thing I would like to reiterate is that I will be much more adamant in what it takes to submit a character. By no means, way, shape or form am I going to insult you or your writing ability or imagination, and if you feel as though I have insulted you, that was not at all my intention. On that note, I have redrafted the old character submission outline and included some guidelines and support to the document to clarify what the new requirements are. I anticipate for there to be many complaints, hiccups and questions in the process ahead; not because I lack faith in any of you, but because I always try to plan for the worse. I have worked to the best of my ability to make the return notes, outline and even these notices as clear cut as possible.

Speaking of notices… In order to aid the speed of working on these characters, I am requesting that anyone interested in submitting a character for TCvTW please send me a DocX connection invitation to ensure quick and easy sharing of information. Please refer to the previous notice so that you can familiarize yourself with a few of the guidelines I mentioned in the above paragraph.

As I said in the previous notice as well, in tandem with working on the characters, I will be working on the previous chapters before the continuation of TCvTW. I have yet to start working on the chapters, as the characters who make up the story currently have priority. I still have no projected time for when the story will be moving off of hiatus, but with everyone's hard work, dedication and most importantly, cooperation, TCvTW can be back on track in no time.

In conclusion; you could say that all of YOU are working on TCvTW just as hard as I am. Why don't we all support one another in our common goal so that we may all have a story – no, a tale of colorful characters and wonderful events that we can all be proud of?

With solemn thanks and highest regards,

Xen Kenshin


End file.
